Self-Help Techniques For Sufferers With Anxiety

In today's society it is common that more than one in ten people suffer with anxiety and only a hand full of people will in actual fact seek professional guidance to help treat and support there anxiety. Like many others myself included who suffer with anxiety can often feel embarrassed and ashamed about discussing there anxiety problems with others. The shameful feeling often prevents the individual to seek help from a professional. 
            I personally have been in and out of therapy seeing professionals such as doctors , psychologists , psychiatrist, counsellors , mental health nurses and occupational therapists for the past 13 years for my anxieties problems. Unfortunately none of these interventions and professionals have been able to help me over the years , as I have always found it difficult to communicate with others and express my feelings . The more difficult I found it to talk about my anxieties problems , the more ashamed I was and became reluctant to share my feelings. However over the years I have picked up several self- help techniques to help with my anxiety which I would love to share with you all and will hopefully help others reading this blog post. Some techniques may work for some individuals and may not for others , it is important to find what is suited to your needs to help decrease your anxiety. 

Self-Help Techniques

1) Identify the triggers - Drawing out a mind map of what is making you anxious can be useful for some individuals as it helps identify the problem causes the anxiety. Analyse why it is making you feel anxious and then come up with possible solutions to help resolve what is making you anxious.

For example - There is an over crowded shopping centre , you begin to feel overwhelmed and your anxiety starts to increase. Find an empty bench , seat or an empty corner to seat on the floor if no seats are accessible. Take deep breaths and always have a pocket book or quiz book handy to help you focus on the book rather than your anxiety.

Key words: Identify , Problem solving , Trigger , Solutions 

2) Exercise -  Physical exercise can be a good self-help for anxiety as it releases endorphins ( also known as the happy hormones) in the body which creates a more positive feeling. Exercise does not have to be a intense exercise work out but can include , going for a long walk , hula hooping , swimming , dancing , tennis , yoga or even golf. 

Key words : Endorphins , Positive feeling , Exercise 

3) Diet -  It is important that an individual maintains a healthy balanced diet. Diet can be a big factor of triggering anxiety relating to a high volume of sugar and caffeine intake , as well as being dehydration . Sugar and caffeine can lead to anxiety symptoms because of the " Sugar rush" effect. 

Keywords: Balanced , Maintain , Sugar , Trigger

4) Keep a diary / journal - Keeping a diary or journal can help an individual to record and express there feelings and thoughts. Many find it useful to write there feelings as it has a sense of release for a person suffering with anxiety. It can also help to identify some of the problems you wasn't aware was a factor of your anxiety .

Keywords: Write , Feelings , Thoughts , Release 

5) Relaxation - Relaxation techniques may be helpful to some suffers with anxiety as it helps the individual to relax and focus on the relaxation techniques rather than their anxiety problems. Relaxation techniques can include , yoga , pilates , meditation and breathing exercises. Each of these techniques can be done from the comfort of your own home by following a DVD , CD or book.

DVD's 

Everyday Yoga For Stress Release £10.99

Yoga For Depression And Anxiety £10.68

Element Yoga For Stress Relief  £7.49 

CD's 

Relax Guided Meditations To Ease Stress And Anxiety  £12.95

Find Inner Peace  £8.99

Mindfulness £8.46

Books

The Anti-Anxiety Workbook £12.21

How To Master Anxiety  £7.22

Key Words : Relax , Meditation , Techniques

  

6) Complementary Therapies -  Some individuals may find complementary therapies such as spa treatments , massages and herbal products helpful. Individuals may find it relaxing and a way to help decrease stress and anxiety. 

  

7) Hobbies And Activities - Finding a hobby or activity that is of interest to you can be a helpful to decrease anxiety as it helps you to focus on something you enjoy and creates a more positive feeling , rather than focusing on your anxiety problems. Hobbies can include anything from art , photographer , dance , sports related activities , joining charity groups , music , reading or even gaming.  

Key words: Hobby , Focus , Positive 

Other Anxiety Related Blog Posts

Living With Anxiety And Understanding Anxiety

Understanding Phobias And The Difference Between Specific And Social Phobias

Understanding And Knowing Why People Self-Harm

Reading Is Good For The Mind

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Autism... The Difference Between Hypersensitive And Hyposensitive ( Sensory Stimulation )

Autism is such a variety of a spectrum , every individual is different and unique meaning each individual will react in different ways to sensory stimulation to each other. The two common responses to sensory stimulation are categorized into " Hypersensitive "and " Hyposesitive ." A person with Autism will often be either hypersensitive or hyposensitive , although that does not mean that an individual can not have characteristics of both categories , like myself! I have Autism and I have characteristics that are in both hypersensitive and hyposensitive. 

Hypersensitive 

Hypersensitive means that an individual with Autism will over react to specific sensory stimulations which a person with Autism would not be affected by.

An individual will often avoid the sensory that causes them distress and discomfort. The sensory that an individual can find sensitive can be anything related to sound , sight , touch , smell and taste. For people who do not have Autism or do not understand Autism the individual with Autism's reaction to a specific sensory may come across as over dramatic " Diva" or arrogant behaviour , without actually understand that the sensory distressing for the individual can sometimes be physically painful especially if the individual has a sensitivity to sight or sound.

Things I am personally sensitive too 

Sight : I am sensitive to specific colours such as bright yellow and orange. I find them painful and uncomfortable to look at. Which means  I often find it difficult to be out in the sun for long periods of time as the brightest is too painful and overwhelming. 

In my room I have dimmed lights because the bright lights are too much for me to handle and the same with the living room lights I use a lamp instead of the main lights.

Sound : I am sensitive to sounds such as a clock ticking , the radiator making a noise , scratching on clothing , paper and surfaces as well as tapping on surfaces , alarms and bells , lawnmowers or somebody making noises with their mouth. All these sounds often make feel very uneasy and distressed. 

Touch : Certain textures can make me very anxious such as suede , silk , dry skin , felt , crepe , wool and fur. 

Smell : Cleaning products , meat products or fast food smells can make me feel sick and I find it difficult to handle being around the smells. 

Hyposensitive 






Hyposensitive is the complete opposite to Hypersensitive , meaning the individual is under sensitive to sensory stimulation and can often be unresponsive to sensory. For example an individual may crave certain hot and spicy foods , but they have no awareness of the temperature of there food , which a person without Autism would be fully aware that their body would not be able to handle that temperature of heat , whereas a person with Autism who is Hyposensitive would not understand the danger of that. Another example is an individual with Autism who is Hyposensitive may not hear things being said verbally or sounds and noises such as alarms , loud music , doorbells , hoovers or lawnmowers and banging of items . Although there is nothing actually wrong with the individual's hearing in itself , but because of the abnormal information processing in the brain the individual may not be able to pick up on certain sounds and noises , which would make them appear unresponsive. 



Things I Can Be Under Sensitive Too




Sound - Although I am sensitive to certain sounds such as a clock ticking , the radiator making a noise , scratching on clothing , paper and surfaces as well as tapping on surfaces , alarms and bells , lawnmowers or somebody making noises with their mouth. I am very unresponsive to verbal communicate , I often can't hear people talking to me and I look to others ( My mum most of the time ) to try and explain what they have said because I can't physical hear them. Sometimes I don't even hear my mum or family members talking to me , or I only tune in at the end of what they are trying to tell me. My mum use to joke that it was selective hearing ( That is often how it can appear.)



Touch - I am fairly tolerant to psychical or self inflective  pain , as someone who use to self harm from being depressed I use to cut my wrists often and it wouldn't hurt even though wrists were a bloody mess , I wouldn't psychically feel " Pain " as such it was more a " Release" or "Relaxed " sensation. 



Body Awareness - I often rock and swing on chairs without realise I am doing it or fidget in a seated environment. I can be oblivious to peoples person space such as standing to close to them or unaware that I am in the way of them.

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Too Embarrassed To Eat.... ( Eating Disorders )

Hello everyone , I hope everyone is well! :) Today's blog post is on the topic of being "Too Embarrassed To Eat." Many people with an eating disorder or are close to somebody with an eating disorder will understand what I mean by saying "I am too embarrassed to eat in front of people." 

If you have followed my blog for awhile now , you will be aware I have suffered with Anorexia Nervosa for a long time and I have touched on the subject in previous blog posts. Although I have wrote about my story about having an eating disorder , I have never really gone into too much detail about the embarrassment you feel when eating. Which I am going to talk about today....

When you are put in a situation of having to eat in front of others , such as a family do or party , a cafe/ restaurant or even in front of others at home , you feel ashamed of eating. You feel judged for not eating but you feel MORE judged for eating. I tend to hover and crouch over my food to hide what I am eating when I am out in public , I only take bites out of my food when people aren't making eye contact with me or I don't feel as though people are watching me. After eating I feel embarrassed and ashamed of myself for eating and mood is at its lowest for the rest of the day. Often I start to cry over the embarrassment I am feeling and become distressed in public , which often means my outing is cut short because I can't handle the shame. When eating at home I will cut myself of from everyone else and go to my room and eat where there is privacy , but just because you have privacy doesn't stop you from feeling the guilt of eating. If I have to eat in front of people at home , I will sit on the couch and hide my food down the side of the couch where nobody can see it and I will lean over to eat my food. The shame and guilt just doesn't go away , often I feel like I have to hurt myself as punishment for eating. My head tells me you have done a bad thing for eating , you deserved to be punished. You feel people are judging you for eating and when somebody says "oh you have eaten it all" or " You have eaten more than normal" it doesn't feel like praise , it feels like an insult! You start to feel more and more repentant about eating that meal and then the cycle starts again when it is the next time to eat. 

Personally I am finding it hard to eat at the moment I feel more and more pressured to eat as much as possible because I am almost 5 months pregnant with my first child. I feed myself for my baby's sake even though it makes me very unhappy eat , I want my baby to be healthy and I keep reminding myself every time I eat it is for my baby. I feel more under pressure now as I feel like I am being watched 24/7 by people making sure I eat. It is taking a mental and emotional toll on me , I want to be brave but I am struggling to cope. My head can't seem to separate " Pregnancy" and " fat" in my mind all I see is I am fat and eating makes me feel worse than ever. I feel so appalled at myself  for eating but then not eating for my baby makes me selfish. I know eating  is something I will always struggle with but I am hoping I find the strength to handle eating for my little baby's sake.

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The Three Main Things NOT To Say To A Person Who Is Anorexic & Pregnant

Hello everyone , I hope everybody is well and has had a lovely Christmas and new years :) This is my first blog post of 2016 and today's blog post is about " The Three Main Things Not To Say To A Person Who Is Anorexic And Pregnant ." If you have read my previous blog post you will know I am expecting a little one in June. I am currently 17 weeks pregnant and if you have followed my blog for awhile now , you may also be aware that I have suffered with anorexia for a long time. 

I wanted to write this post hoping to help others who may  know somebody who suffers with anorexia or any kind of eating disorder and are also pregnant on how to be a little more sensitive to support them throughout there pregnancy. 

Body

1. Where is your bump? Lets see it then...

( A person with Anorexia is already self conscious and mental struggling with there body image as it , pointing out the obvious that there body is changing makes them feel more judged about their body and feels like they are constantly being analysed for there body and weight. )   

Food

2. You are eating more aren't you? get that food down you!

( Many individuals with Anorexia are not selfish , so no matter how hard it is to eat , they will eat for the sake of the baby's health , no matter how unhappy eating makes them. Somebody pointing out that the individual is eating more could trigger the individual  relapsing and cause them not to eat at all. A person with anorexia often feels ashamed  and guilt of eating , so pointing there increase in food intake will make them feel 100x worse. ) 

Clothing

3. If an individual with anorexia says " None of my clothes fit any more "Don't reply with " get a few sizes bigger then ."

( An individual can be very sensitive to the topic of clothing and sizing. A person with anorexia is struggling to come to terms with the changes in there body and in the individuals mind going up in sizes means they think they are fat. It is hard to separate the mentality of feeling fat to being pregnant. Eventually the individual will come to terms in there own time that they might have to go up a size, but never suggest to them to go up a size , let them come to terms at there own pace.)

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I Almost Lost My Baby.... My Pregnancy Story

Finding Out I Was Pregnant 

Throughout the whole of September I felt very unwell, constant migraines, tummy pains, nausea, light headed and I had little energy to do things. I thought I had a tummy bug and head cold, it didn't occur to me for one second that I was pregnant as I was on the pill. As the pill is supposedly 99% effective, I trusted that I was being safe; however it didn't cross my mind that when you were ill while on the pill there is high percentage of it not being effective. 

        As I have suffered with an eating disorder for a long time, I am use to not having a regular menstrual cycle, so my periods being late or not coming at all didn't concern me too much. It was only when boobs started to hurt that something clicked that something wasn't right  , I had constant pains and I felt uncomfortable wearing bras and my bras would no longer fit. I looked up online what could be the cause of having painful boobs and all the other symptoms I was having, and the first thing that came up was pregnancy.  

         I was in a different room to my mum, so I shouted to come to mine room and told her. She ran out to the shop and got myself several pregnancy tests. The first test was one of them cheap paper stick pregnancy tests, when I peed on the stick nothing showed up at all. One line was for negative, two was for positive. So I took another test, one line came up very clear the other line came up faintly so I was unsure of the result. My Mum ran out to the shop again and bought a Clear Blue pregnancy test to get a more accurate result. I took the test and waited a couple of minutes for the result to show, the wait seemed like forever. Finally the result showed and it said +3 weeks pregnant, I fell to the ground crying. I knew I wasn't ready to have a baby, my boyfriend and I have only been together since the end of June. I was terrified and I didn't know what to do. I told my boyfriend and he was as shocked and devastated as I was. We both knew we were nowhere near ready to have a baby. We didn't know what to do.

I Thought I Lost My Baby

         For the next couple of weeks we both avoided the subject and tried to pretend that it wasn’t happening. A couple weeks after finding out I was pregnant I was around 6 weeks pregnant and while out shopping on a Sunday afternoon with my boyfriend and Mum. My boyfriend and I were looking at something upstairs in a shop while my Mum was downstairs in the shop. I felt a horrible pain in my belly and lower area, It felt stronger than a period pain but I knew there and then I was bleeding. I looked at my boyfriend and said “I am losing the baby” whilst tearing up. He said “what do you mean?” I replied “I can feel blood.” He helped me down the stairs as I was struggling to walk as I had a skirt on and I was afraid blood would pour out of my underwear.

    We found my Mum downstairs and she helped me find a toilet. My Mum went into the toilets with me and I went into a cubical on my own. I looked down at my underwear and there was blood everywhere, I just knew it, I lost the baby, there was just so much blood. I started to cry and I shouted my Mum to come into the cubical, she saw the blood and began to tear up too. She helped me clean myself up and we went back outside to find my boyfriend. I told my boyfriend everything , he just held me tight , comforted me , he told everything is going to be ok and it isn’t my fault.

       That didn’t stop me from feeling like it wasn’t my fault, I felt like I was a failure, a terrible mother who couldn’t keep her baby safe. I kept saying “I killed our baby didn’t I? It is my entire fault”. I couldn’t stop crying. So as soon as we got home my Mum phoned the emergency doctor on my behalf and explained everything. The doctor said it was very likely that I had miscarried, that broke my heart. I was devastated! The doctor arranged an emergency internal scan two days later. For two days I did nothing but cry and blame myself, my boyfriend and my Mum both tried to comfort me but I just couldn’t stop crying.

    The two days seemed like forever, but it was time for my scan. I couldn’t understand why I needed a scan to tell me I have lost my baby, it almost felt like the knife been twisted some more. My Mum came with me to the scan as my boyfriend had to work that day. I went into the scan room with the mentality of my baby is dead why am I here?

      The lady doing the ultra sound started to proceed with the scan, I sat back trying my hardest to fight back my tears. The lady said “ Well there is a strong heartbeat there”,  I looked at the lady in confusion , she said “ Your baby is doing fine , I am not sure why you had such a big bleed there is no explanation for that. But I can assure you, your baby has one strong heartbeat. I looked at my Mum and we both started crying, I was so happy my baby was ok.

( My scan picture from my emergency scan at 6 weeks ) 

     I told my boyfriend the news and he was shocked but was happy everything was ok. We both couldn't get over it! We came to the conclusion that no matter how fast everything may seem our baby is clearly meant to be here and is ready to fight to be here. Everything took some time to get use to and accept that we have a baby arriving in June. But no matter the struggles and challenges we are going to face, my boyfriend and I will face together and do everything we can to give all our love and support to our baby. I am so grateful that I have a wonderful man who takes care of me and has been with me every step of the way. He has always put me first before himself and I feel so blessed and lucky that he has supported me  , no matter how bumpy ( excuse the pun lol)  this journey has been so far , but no just through my pregnancy but the support and love he gives me in everything I do. 

( My 13 weeks scan picture ) 

I am currently 15 weeks pregnant , and my boyfriend and I are expecting our little one on the 18th of June. On the 1st of February which is my birthday ;D we get to find out the gender of our baby at my 20+ weeks scan!  

Thank you for reading 

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