Day 25: Lets have a little chat about panic attacks...

Hi everyone,

This blog is incredibly hard for me to write. I recently have been struggling with anxiety, in particular anxiety attacks. So I thought I would try to make a chatty blog about this issue and hopefully make some one feel a little less alone.

My story.

I've had a pretty poor time of it as of late. My dad lost his job, I was having self esteem issues and it felt like a constant battle to get through the day. Ultimately, it lead to panic attacks. Recently at my worst I was  having at least one panic attack a day. I couldn't help but feel worthless.

How I cope with them.

Initially I dealt with them very poorly, I didn't tell any one. Keeping this issue to myself was one of the worst things I  could have ever done. Work, family and friends have been so supportive. Even if they don't understand themselves, they have never judge or made me feel like I'm idiotic.

Right now I am in the process of joining a gym, attempting (and failing) to eat healthy. I am a big believer that you need to look after you body and you mind will come around in time. One thing I have learnt in the process of all of this is that you need to make time for yourself; you're not a bad person for taking time for yourself.

Guilt, is a massive part of life, especially when your dealing with anxiety. The feeling of guilt never leaves. Constantly feeling like your in the wrong, you're not good enough or just that you an awful person will always take it out on you.

How to move on.

Anxiety never leaves you, but  you do learn to live and manage it. Here are three tips I use when I need a minute or two.

1, Breathe.

A obvious thing, right ? No, when your panicking you lose track of your breathing. This cheesy method really does help. Remember, in through the nose,  out through the mouth?

2, Take yourself away.

Being around a stress situation or even just people, is something that can severely influence an anxiety attack. Taking yourself away for 5 minutes can really be a life saver in moments like that.

3, Look at the sky.

Look up and count the clouds, it really helps give you a minute or two to focus on something else. Counting the clouds or looking at the shapes of the cloud's will honestly really help. Or at least they help me.

So.

I hope you liked his chatty little blog. This blog was so hard for me to write, anxiety is a constant battle and each and everyone's story is different. So, I hope this helps, even if its only a little

Love.
Em

x