Anxiety...

Note- It has taken me a very long time to decide whether I wanted to post this or not as it is a serious issue and affects me a lot in my day to day life. So please be open-minded whilst reading. Thank You.

As I wrote this a while ago, I had completely forgotten about it, but after a particular anxiety filled day which involved me having a panic attack at an audition in front of two complete strangers, I was reminded about it and decided that if anyone else was going through similar things then maybe I could use this as a little way of helping them. :)

This is a photo/quote from an amazing film/book- It’s Kind Of A Funny Story by Ned Vizzini ad I STRONGLY recommend it to anyone who may be having a hard time or just wants to watch/read a really good film/book.

As someone who has lived with anxiety for almost as long as I can remember, I know what a difficult thing it is to deal with. So because of this I thought I would write some advice/helpful tips for people who also suffer from it or just want to know more about what it is. If you have anxiety and aren't receiving any help please ask for some, there are lots of ways to get help and you can improve how you’re feeling a lot just by sharing it with someone,

Definition of Anxiety Disorder (from WordNet)-

A cover term for a variety of mental disorders in which severe anxiety is a salient symptom.

Everyone at some-point will feel anxious about something whether it's an exam or going somewhere new or meeting new people, it could be anything. But in some cases it’s more than just a small thing and can be more difficult to deal with in everyday life. There are many different forms of anxiety disorders  including - Panic Disorder, O.C.D (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder), P.T.S.D. (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), Social Anxiety Disorder, Phobias and G.A.D (Generalized Anxiety Disorder).

Here is a link that will hopefully be able to give you more information on the disorders and what they are like.

http://www.webmd.com/anxiety-panic/guide/mental-health-anxiety-disorders

Ideas for when you’re feeling anxious-

Read your favourite books

Watch your favourite films

Watch funny videos on YouTube

Go outside and get some air

Get a notebook and write whatever you want and as much as you want

Google baby ducks

Listen to your Favorited bands

Think about all the good things in life and what you want to do with your life

Talk to someone, you can talk to me, honestly feel free to :)

Go on Tumblr/we heart it

Do something creative - draw, paint, bake, write etc.

Make a blog post

Meditate - theirs a link below for this I’ll mark it with some *'s

I know sometimes you won’t be in a situation where you can do these things like if you’re in public or at work/school. So get out of wherever you are even if the only place you can go is the toilet and just breathe.

If you are at school talk to a guidance teacher, that's what they're there for and their usually pretty good with these things

Find one of your friends and just sit with them for a few minutes

Call a friend/parent/guardian whoever you feel comfortable talking to and just talk to them until you have calmed down (this helps me a lot, as does the next tip)

Remember that a panic attack shouldn't last any longer than twenty minutes and you can get through it.

Helpful Links-

If you just need to stop and relax for a few minutes to relax, calm down and get some peace I find these  helpful places to go to-

http://thequietplaceproject.com/thethoughtsroom/ - a place where you can type whatever you want to get out and watch it just disappear it sounds a bit strange but I find it to be really helpful

http://thequietplaceproject.com/thequietplace?page=&lang= - a quiet place

http://thequietplaceproject.com/thedreamsroom/comfortspot - a place where you can go to get and give comfort, everyone is so supportive and it’s a really good website

http://www.calm.com/ - guided meditation***

http://simplynoise.com/ - a website which generates white noise

http://www.donothingfor2minutes.com/ - literally what it says on the tin

Links to help keep you distracted-

http://mentalillnessmouse.tumblr.com/post/29539153962/how-to-make-a-comfort-box - A guide to making a comfort box. *a comfort box is a box that you fill with things that may help you relax or calm you

http://coolresourcesdang.tumblr.com/post/73869680014/coping-skills-dbt-self-soothing-techniques-ptsd - a list of distractions/coping skills

http://hollow-gram.tumblr.com/post/38466246084/alternatives-for-when-youre-feeling-angry-or - a helpful list for things to do when you feel certain ways

If you have self-harmed-

http://chooserecovery.tumblr.com/post/64162912692/ultimate-self-injury-recovery-masterpost - shows you how to treat self-harm injuries/conceal/hide them

Links to cheer you up

http://www.givesmehope.com/top - generates random happy stories for when you’re feeling down

http://www.cse.unsw.edu.au/~geoffo/humour/flattery.html - generates random compliments

http://cuteroulette.com/#/videos/view/245 - generates random videos of cuteness

I hope these help you if you have any links/advice/tips/stories/questions etc... That you would like to share please feel free to post them in the comments.

Thank you for reading

Holly xx

P.S. I apologize for my shocking use of grammar in this post.