I feel like anxiety has become more understood in the last ten years. Many of us live with the effects of anxiety on a daily basis. One of the things that I struggle with during therapy is that I feel like it’s only me.
I say only me to mean how isolated I feel, not in a ‘Daddy I want a pony! *stamps foot*’ kind of way.
I always come back to the idea that I wish more people would openly discuss how they feel. This would stop many of us from feeling like we’re the only ones wading through chunky vegetable soup every day.
So in the spirit of openness, here are some of the things that cause anxiety in normal situations.
Packing
I’m sure I’m not the only one who has had a meltdown over a suitcase. Packing makes me a big sweaty mess - and I’ll fully admit I am horrid to be around when I have to pack! I’ve managed to narrow it down to the core issue - a fear of being unprepared, or that I will change my mind on the day. How can I pack the entire contents of three ginormous wardrobes so I can have all I might need?
I don’t like packing - and I wish I could go back to the 19th century where you could just add your own coach to a train and travel in your own private train coach - this would allow me all the space I need to stop being anxious over packing!
Food choices
Choosing food is always an anxious moment for me - making decisions that feel detrimental to the mood of the moment are high pressure for me. I like to see a menu ahead of time so I can familiarise myself with the choices ahead. If that can’t be done I can sometimes feel a little stuck - sweating, nervous and stressed.
I panic in those moments and it can quite often ruin a day. This also can happen at Pret when choosing a sandwich - this is why I can sometimes feel ridiculous!
Travel
Travel is one of my more severe enemies. Going places. Not being late. Having to rely on trains. This is a heady mix of anxiety-inducing variables that makes me utterly miserable. I am utterly tense until I get where I need to be - spending hours worrying, checking call times, schedules, and live travel updates.
Over summer travel around the U.K. became hostile due to strikes - and this only made it worse - winding up the tenseness I felt to such an extreme I couldn’t do a trip without ending up really ill. The only highlight was seeing Linda Barker (of changing rooms fame) on a train in June which did make me smile! However, travel sends my anxiety through the roof.
So there are three everyday things that make me miserable - so if you’re suffering in similar ways you're not doing it on your own. Life makes us all hurt in ways it shouldn’t and I don’t want you to feel alone 💖
Shot by Rachel Pechey
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