Helping those with anxiety
Anxiety
Having complex-PTSD one of my closest enemies is anxiety and panic. These two buddies harass me on a regular basis, and they are never invited. I can be sailing through my day/week, working, and looking after my family, and either one can make an unannounced visit, staying in my brain rent free, for as long as they seem to want.
I have written some blogs about complex PTSD, and I continue to share stories about it, in the hope to provide a shared experience, to support others who also suffer. I want everyone to feel connected, to eliminate the awful dread of feeling isolated and alone. Anxiety, terror, panic, whatever words you prefer to describe your unique experience, can be terrifying. It can feel like your mind and emotions are imprisoned in a rumination of self-doubt, confusion, trepidation and fear.
There are times, which I imagine you get too, when anxiety manifests without any obvious or recognised trigger. Sometimes we feel most powerless when this happens, because we cannot rationalise the symptoms. This can make us feel like we have no control whatsoever in managing the panic. This sense of powerlessness feeds into the anxiety, and then you are on a downward spiral.
I can say, with optimism, that I have recently survived a particularly severe 3 weeklong panic attack, and step into calmer waters now. I was lucky enough to engage with my therapist in the time, and I am also blessed with an amazing husband. Looking back on the experience, I thought it was permanent. I couldn’t see past the perception that my world was unsafe.
It is through this experience that I wanted to draw something positive from it. To share to the world that anxiety/panic/trauma can be overcome. I work full time and have children and a household, and I carry out all these responsibilities regardless of my emotional/state. This is likely due to a long-learned skill of surviving, and I am not necessarily advocating this as a coping strategy.
Some people might experience complex trauma, or anxiety/depression which interferes with their daily life, and for them, it is essential that they receive specialist support. Sadly, the NHS mental health services are in as much crisis as the patients trying to access it and this breaks my heart. It is for this reason that I have my website and regularly post on it. I hope that I am an advocate for those suffering with mental health.
I always hope that my words reach as far as possible, I only have this humble space on the mammoth world of the internet, but if just one person gains something from reading one of my blogs, I have succeeded in my intention to help others. I am also a qualified advanced nurse practitioner, so I am trained in helping others. I am quite a chatter box and I have been told, over the years, that I have a sunny disposition!
My website is my opportunity to express that sunny disposition, and chatterbox nature, even though at times, I talk about more difficult subjects. I hope these blogs reach as many people as possible, and perhaps this site will make a difference to the world, to the collective population. We are all in this together! This thing called life, so supporting one another will always make the journey less frightening, and more empowering.
