Conquering Anxiety: Learning from others
Hi everyone! I hope you are doing well. This is week 7 of our Conquering Anxiety series. Please complete the earlier post if you have not yet! This week we will be learning from @fearlessSail5693, a teen member who has generously agreed to share their own experience in dealing with anxiety and how they managed to make progress.
At what point did you start this journey and what steps did you take early on?
I started this journey when I was tired of feeling anxious and scared every day. I was being crushed under the weight of being unable to live freely and that's when I decided to bring a change. Initially, i asked for advice and help and found out what method works for me the best
What challenges did you face and how did you overcome them?
Initially, I wasn't able to stop ruminating and feeling anxious and was about to give up. There were days when I kept doubting if my phobia/anxiety is ever going to end or not. But I kept hoping and believing that I could do it! Eventually, I learned my way through it. Even I learned what words would trigger my anxiety and instead of avoiding them completely, I slowly used them myself so I could grow out of it. The key to this whole process is just trusting yourself
What are your tips for people who wish to better manage their anxiety?
Keep your hopes high and believe in yourself that you can and you will manage your anxiety! There will be some ups and downs but don't let them discourage you. Don't think that it'll be gone in a day or two, be consistent in whatever you do and slowly you'll start seeing results. Stay optimistic!
What methods/habits were helpful for me to get over my anxiety
I tried to avoid rumination by not paying attention to it much and just agreeing with whatever my brain kept telling me. I tried Leaves on a stream meditation every day consistently which helped me tremendously
I also worked on controlling my breath so whenever I felt extremely anxious, I tried to maintain my breathing pattern and I started going for walks which kept my mind clear of any anxious thoughts even if temporary
Thank you for sharing your experience with us!
The task of the week! (Please stick to the prompts based on your account type)
For members
- Does any of the points mentioned by sail resonate with you?
- Can you think of anything sail did that may be beneficial to apply in your life?
For listeners
- How can you support someone who is struggling with anxiety and wishes to use exposure therapy to overcome it?
- You are welcome to share words of encouragement with sail.
Both members and listeners can ask sail further questions by tagging them. Sail will answer the questions they feel comfortable to answer.
This post is part of the Conquering Anxiety series, you can find all posts of the series here.
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@Hope
For members
Can you think of anything sail did that may be beneficial to apply in your life?
I think the leaves on a stream meditation may be beneficial to apply in my life. Was considering the 30 day meditation by Lavendaire but tried it today and it went very badly. So I will explore the leaves on a stream meditation.
For listeners
How can you support someone who is struggling with anxiety and wishes to use exposure therapy to overcome it?
I can support someone who is struggling with anxiety and wishes to use exposure therapy to overcome it by filling my cup first and helping from the overflow instead of being in a chronic state of being drained and never full.
@communicativePond1728
Hopefully the leaves on the stream will prove beneficial!
@Hope totes
@Hope thanks
@Hope Thank you for sharing your experience
Does any of the points mentioned by sail resonate with you? The leaf meditation. Although I often do visualizations with balloons that help sometimes
Can you think of anything sail did that may be beneficial to apply in your life? I do pay more attention to my breathing and it helps to slow it down
I need to work on hope and believing in myself more
@Hope
- How can you support someone who is struggling with anxiety and wishes to use exposure therapy to overcome it?
- I would let them know I am here for them anytime and do the exposure therapy with them so their not feeling alone and have someone to connect with
@Hope
- How can you support someone who is struggling with anxiety and wishes to use exposure therapy to overcome it? By being there for them, checking in with them frequently, and being encouraging!
- You are welcome to share words of encouragement with sail. it is very brave of you, sail, to manage this! i am proud of you <3
@Hope
How can you support someone who is struggling with anxiety and wishes to use exposure therapy to overcome it?
I can support them by asking what areas they want to work on regarding anxiety and exposure therapy. Once I know, I can say or act out scenarios that we can work through together. We can have a safe word or action to let me know that they need to take a break if it is getting too overwhelming.
You are welcome to share words of encouragement with sail.
Sail, you really are inspiring as you have developed so many skills regarding anxiety! I wish I had your level of knowledge when I was a teenager. Keep up the great work!
@Hope One thing I loved that Sail mentioned was when they said they started going on walks. I've tried meditation and deep breathing to try and ease up anxiety, but nothing works. When I'm in a funk, quiet walks definitely do the trick. There's something about just being in nature and I love that Sail brought walking up. It can help ease up on anxiety. I am so proud of Sail and hearing about the things that work for them!
@Hope
- How can you support someone who is struggling with anxiety and wishes to use exposure therapy to overcome it? I think giving them space for them to figure out if it's a good fit for them is the point. since it's not always a good fit for everyone.
- You are welcome to share words of encouragement with sail.
anxiety is tough, dealing with it can sometimes be discouraging, but as someone who's still dealing with it, it's not impossible! you're brave to come here and you're brave for trying. you got this!💚
1. I agree with the bit about controlling your breathing.
2. I guess the bits about avoiding rumination.
@Hope
Many of the points sail made absolutely resonated with me. I feel like the cycle of trying so hard to be hopeful and break patterns of anxiety and fear, having ups and downs, and subsequently fearing that hope was futile is a VERY common pattern in those of us who struggle with this.
I think continuing to try each day and not give up is important. I also want to give the Leaves on a Stream meditation a try. I have tried meditating many times, and my mind is so preoccupied that I never feel very successful with it. It's like there's ten squirrels bouncing around inside my head bringing up 742 topics, and I have to constantly remind myself that I'm meditating or I'll just be marinating my whole brain in thought.
