Mindful Monday ~Mindfulness Surroundings~

Hello everyone and welcome back to a new blog post!

So, recently I had an idea. I asked you guys over on my social medias if you thought it would be a good idea, and you agreed! From now on, every Monday I will be writing a blog post that will introduce new ways to be a mindful person and to therefore reduce your anxiety. I have decided upon the name, and it will be called ‘Mindful Mondays’. Depending on how the series performs, and how you guys find it, I will be carrying it on for a long time. So, now I have explained the series, and what it will entail, I think it’s about time we got stuck into our first ever post of Mindful Mondays!

I have decided to dedicate my first post, to one of my favourite mindful strategies, and that is the mindfulness present in your surroundings. In this post I will be telling you how to recognise the mindfulness that is in the air around you, and how to use it to keep yourself calm and anxiety free.

1. So to start with, I would like you to take a seat in a chair, sit relaxed but with a straight back and your feet firmly on the floor. Use a pillow to prop your back up if that is more comfortable for you.
2. Next, place both you hands on each of your knees, and take a deep breath in through your nose. As you do so, notice how your body is moving, inflating as you breath in. Feel the air move through your chest and filling up your lungs.
3. Now, slowly breath out of your mouth, noticing how your body starts to deflate and the whooshing sound it makes as you release all the present air.
4. Continue to do so, but this time notice how your feet and firmly pressed against the ground. Imagine, they are rooted to the ground and you are apart of the earth. Notice how heavy your body seems, as you press your feet more firmly against the floor.
5. Now listen to the sounds around you, the faint sound of talking, the silent buzz of your electronic devices, or the swooshing sound of the wind coming from your mouth, it doesn’t matter. Zone into the sounds, and try to recognise them. Try and listen as carefully as you can and pick up the various sounds from the outside world. Gain comfort from the fact that you are warm and cosy inside.
6. Imagine all your worries and fears are in front of you, and blow them away with the breath you exhale.

Try this exercise for a good 5-10 minutes, and recognise everything around you. Take time to appreciate your environment and to get away from all the stresses of life. Doing this once a day when you are feeling stressed will leave you feeling much more relaxed and anxiety free.

This will be the end of this post, but please be sure to leave your feedback below on how you found it! Thank you once again for your continued support!

Minding Anxiety.

 

Back to School Anxiety

Hello everyone, and welcome back to a new blog!

I recently asked you guys on twitter which blog post you would like to see next out of ‘back to school anxiety’ and ‘interviews with anxiety’ and the final votes finished 50/50. However, due to the fact that most schools start back next week, I thought it would be a great time to publish this blog. Being 18, I have just finished my ‘school years’ and am now onto the ‘University years’ of my life. With this being said, I still have a lot of experiences of starting school again after summer, and the anxiety and worries that comes with it. This is why I have decided to write a blog post, introducing various methods and tips you can use in order to remain calm before the start of the new school year. These are tips and methods that you can use all year round as well!

Dreading the first day back, and getting that feeling of butterflies in your stomach when you think about the dreaded day, is perfectly normal. I felt it would be very useful for you, if I shared some of my methods I have acquired over my School years to ease that feeling and to teach you to control your nerves.

1. Prepare your body clock  – The first ‘tip’ I have for you, is to ensure that your/your child’s sleeping pattern is back to normal. Naturally, during the holidays you are bound to go to sleep later and wake up later the next day, because you don’t have to be up for school everyday, and there is nothing wrong with that. However, if you don’t fix this pattern 1-2 weeks prior to starting the new year, then you are going to struggle to go to sleep early at night and therefore wake up early the next morning. This means that you won’t be getting anywhere near enough sleep to get you through the school day. Feeling tired can lead you to feel emotionally unstable, and therefore feelings of anxiety are going to hit you harder. If you have the right amount of sleep, and have gotten your body familiar to getting up early each morning, then you are going to be feeling a lot more mentally stable, meaning you can handle your anxiety and work hard throughout the day.
2. Eliminating sugary snacks! – So, this next tip is to do with mindfulness, and how to ensure that your body is a mindful one. During a stressful time, or building up to an event that you are worrying about (going back to school), your body will tell you that you want something sugary to relieve your nerves and make you feel satisfied. However, if you think about what you are eating, and you become aware of the craving you will soon find out that you might not want that biscuit after all as thinking about what you’re eating can actually get rid of the craving. Eating sugary foods like chocolate, will often make you feel worse. Eating something like fruit, or vegetables might not seem as pleasurable at the time, but will make your body feel a lot healthier because of how nutritious they are. This will make you feel more mindful and calm and less anxious, and will also give you the right energy to get you through your day!
3. Ensuring all the basics are done – This next tip is to do with being organised and doing the little things that you think wouldn’t make a difference, when actually they do. Make sure that you have all of you stationary and books that you will need for the new year, so that no anxiety is introduced or provoked when you realise you don’t have something you don’t need. Ensuring you have all of the basics will get rid of a whole lot of stress when it comes to the new school year.
4. Making sure you have a big and healthy breakfast each morning – So this next one is more for throughout the year, not only on the first morning. Eating something nutritious, and something that is going to give you energy for the day is vital for a healthy mind and body. It’s true that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. And if you struggle to eat because your so nervous, then to calm yourself down listen to the sounds as you eat. Focus on your surroundings, whether that be the wind blowing of the sound of the TV in the background. This will take your mind off your nerves and allow you to eat. You need breakfast for fuel, so make sure you eat it!
5. Being social with your school friends! – So, my fifth and final method/tip for you is to ensure that you are in strong contact with your friends from school. A lot of the time, you will find that your friend/s will be feeling the exact same way as you are! Venting your worries to one another will ease the anxiety of heading back to school, because you will realise that you are not the only one. Also, having the emotional support from your friends will help greatly on your first day back and throughout your school life!

That wraps up my blog post. I really hope that you find this useful as it’s something I wish I would’ve been able to read when I was going through my school years. If this doesn’t effect you directly, then be sure to spread it round to someone you know that it will benefit. Thank you once again for your continued support and I hope you visit back for a new blog post!

Minding Anxiety.

 

Learning To Drive With Anxiety

Hello everyone, and thank you for joining me for a new blog!

I recently asked you on twitter which blog you would like to see next, and you decided upon the ‘learning to drive with anxiety’ blog. Personally, I was always very excited to start learning to drive, and so I decided to start the minute I turned 17, but it was a very nerve-racking experience. My main aim of publishing this blog, is to ease the anxiety of driving and to make it a more exciting for you personally. I will be going through the anxiety of both the theoretical and practical sides of driving, to ensure that you are as anxiety free as I can possible assist you to be.

Of course, learning to drive is a very daunting and intimidating process for anyone, so it’s that little bit worse when you have to deal with anxiety. Many worries will run through your head, and there will be that little voice pushing you to quit, but you mustn’t. To make sure that voice in your head is silenced and the thoughts flooding your mind are positive, I am going to provide you with some very assisting tips and methods. So, lets begin!

The Theory Test 

First things first, before you take your practical test, your first obstacle is your theory test. With the theory test your can take it as soon as you’re 17, even if you have no practical driving experience. I always recommend that you book and attempt the theory test as soon as you possible can, so that you don’t keep pushing the date further and further away until the pressure is so built up you don’t want to do it!

1. Your approach to the environment – The theory test room isn’t as daunting as everyone makes it out to be, in fact its just you, a computer and a set of headphones, quite relaxing actually! Normally, you will be placed into your own little booth, which will be segregated from other peoples by a panel (to avoid cheating). So straight away you can imagine the room to be empty with just you, which will eliminate the social anxiety. Imagine you’re at home on your computer just doing a practise test. Once you have your headphones plugged in, you won’t be able to hear anything which also relaxes you greatly. You must not think about where you are, and like I said, just treat it like your at home doing a practise test. Given the environment it’s very easy to make yourself comfy and relaxed.
2. Bring a nice cold bottle of water – No matter what, I also bring a cold bottle of water to exams/tests. Just so if I start to get hot and bothered, I can simply sit back, take a deep breath and have a sip of water. This will calm you down, and get rid of any nausea or butterflies your anxiety may be giving you.
3. Your attitude – The attitude you carry into the exam, will really effect the way you are feeling both building up to and during the test. I went into the exam with the attitude of, if I fail I can always do it again. And this is KEY to remember. If your fail it’s not the end of the world, you can retake, in fact you can retake it as many times as you possible want! Don’t add the pressure to yourself of having to pass ‘first time’. It’s irrelevant, everyone develops and learns at their own pace, so don’t compare yourself to others.
4. Keep it a secret – In my opinion, the worst thing you can possibly do is to tell your friends when your test is. It just adds more pressure to pass, because you know you will have to tell them if you fail or not. If you go without saying anything then nothing Will be said. Of course tell your family, but no more, it will reduce pressure dramatically because you won’t have to face the music if it’s not so good news. But it’s also essential to remember that it is okay not to pass first time.

Learning to drive practically 

So, after getting the dreaded theory test out of the way, your next hurdle will be actually driving a car. At first, you will be completely out of your comfort zone and this is more than normal. However, the trick is to learn how to deal with feeling this way, and not letting it effect how your’e driving, and how you feel through this exciting experience.

The first set of tips I will be giving you, are tips that will benefit you mainly on your first couple of lessons when it’s all very new and you’re not too sure how to handle the situation. After that I will aim the tips for your test day.

For your first couple of lessons;

1. Treat your instructor as a friend – So, many people (including myself), create some horrific image of your instructor being a mean and scary person. You couldn’t be more wrong. Your instructor will become your friend on the road, and will keep you calm and collective. Letting your instructor know how anxious you are often helps, as they will offer more support and help to you. Speaking throughout your lesson, and treating your instructor like a friend will ease the pressure and distract your mind from all the negative thoughts. This one method really helped me greatly, and made the whole process much more pleasant.
2. Become aware of your surroundings – When driving, you naturally concentrate on your surroundings, and every single thing around you so you stay safe in the car. By doing this, you will be distracted from thinking about the bad things your brain would usually think, and in turn feel less anxious. Also, when you’re concentrating time flies, and I came to learn with my lessons that the driving time comes and goes extremely quickly.
3. Take deep breaths, and tap your finger – This method is more for the unexpected anxiety moment. If all of a sudden you feel anxious, just take some deep breaths and tap your finger on anything, whether that be the steering wheel or the gear stick, whatever is convenient. Tap at a nice steady pace to slow your heart rate and keep you calm. This always worked for me!

The test 

As for your test, I have only one piece of advice, and that is to just act like it’s a normal lesson. Don’t stress, and just go to show the examiner what you can do. Using all the tips above will also become relevant during the test too. And if you make one mistake just write it down on paper in your head, scrunch it up and throw it away. Remain focussed, and remember you DON’T have to pass first time!

This brings my blog to an end. I can’t stress enough how exciting driving is, and how much freedom it will introduce to your life. So, treat the whole experience as a positive thing and you will be more than fine. I hope this blog has been beneficial to your or someone you know, and I wish you the best of luck if you are in the process of learning to drive! Thank you, once again for the continuous support, and please feel free to leave your feedback below!

Minding Anxiety.

 

University With Anxiety

Hello everyone, and welcome back to another blog!

Today I bring some amazing news! After living with anxiety all of my life, I never thought I would ever be able to say that I am going to University, but here I am today being able to say that I did it, and I couldn’t be prouder! I never thought that I would be able to sit in an exam hall with all of the pressures riding on my shoulders, let alone actually pass my exams with the results I required to get into University. After months of hard work and anticipation, I found out on Thursday that I had done it and I will now be and going to study Creative Writing and Journalism in the next exciting chapter of my life.

Usually I wouldn’t post a blog like this, but I’m not doing it to show off or to make anyone feel bad. The real reason is because I want to show people that no matter how bad your anxiety gets, and how hard it tries to bring you down and tell you that you can’t do it, it’s possible to fight through and come back stronger and better, and when you do there’s no better feeling. I really hope people take inspiration from the fact I fought through anxiety, and use it as fuel to drive you through your exams or whatever journey you are currently on in your life.

Of course, now I have the nerves of leaving home and living by myself, but I am going to be using various methods over the next month to make sure that I am as excited as possible. It’s completely normal to feel anxiety for such a huge event in your life, but I want to make sure that I’m not letting my anxiety ruin the excitement of University. I am going to share some of the things I will be doing to keep my mind peaceful and clean;

1. Becoming familiar with the people on my course – I’ve stated this in one of my previous blogs, but this is extremely relevant here. I have already joined the Facebook ‘mentor’ page, in which people on my course have joined in order to communicate and to make friends. In my eyes, having some familiar faces when starting University will help ease the anxiety, because you will feel more comfortable in the environment. It is also lovely to talk to people that are in the same situation as you, and who feel the same way, so then you know you’re not alone.
2. Recognising ALL of the positives – For me, I am going to make sure that I recognise all of the positives that come with going to Uni. I am even really excited to go shopping and buying all of my furniture and moving in bits! It helps to sit down and write all of the good things down on paper, and then compare them with the bad. I can assure you there will be a lot more positives than negatives. Recognising these positives will take your mind off the negatives and will leave you feeling more excited than anxious.
3. Think of it as an accomplishment – This is the key point amongst all of these ‘methods’. I believe it’s so unbelievably important to think and appreciate how hard you have worked to even get into the position of going to University. Think about everything you have gone through and accomplished to even pass your exams and get a place in University. If you have made it this far then you are more than capable of going to Uni and destroying those anxious nerves, just like you did before. Having this mindset is so important, to think of University as an accomplishment that many don’t achieve, and to feel proud of yourself because you 100% should!
4. Spending time with your family – As you are going to be going through a very nerve racking and scary time, it’s so important to be around the ones that love and support you. Having someone to talk to and to vent your worries to will allow you get so many things off your chest and make you feel better. It’s also nice to spend your last month around your family, because you will be moving away and so you want to make sure you make the most of your time with them so you feel ready when the time comes to fly the nest.
5. Being organised – I’ve said this before, but I believe a lot of my anxiety comes from stress and not being organised, if the event is planned and I have prepared for it, then I will automatically feel a lot less anxious. By organised I mean making sure you have done everything as early as possible, like buying the books you need, the ‘moving in’ things and have enrolled properly in your chosen course. Having all of these does early will mean you won’t have to worry about them nearer to the time, which will take a whole load of stress off your shoulders.

This has rounded up my ‘life update/how to deal with University nerves’ blog. I really hope this has benefited you in some way, and even if this doesn’t effect you directly, do be sure to show anyone who will be going to University this year or even in the near future.

I can’t thank you enough for all of the support I have received recently, and if you have been receiving your results I hope everything went to plan! Let me know if you will be going to Uni?

Minding Anxiety.

Results Day Anxiety

Hello everyone! Welcome back!

Today I thought it would be a great time to focus on results day anxiety, as I’m an A level student myself receiving my results tomorrow, I know exactly how it feels to be anxious and stressed about what grades are going to be planted into that  dreaded paper. So, I thought it would be a great idea to introduce to you guys what I will be doing to keep myself as calm and anxiety free as I possibly can this Thursday.

Being 18 means that I have already had my fair share of results days and exams, so I’m experienced with how everything works and how to stay as calm as possible. One thing you MUST remember prior, during and after you’ve collected your results is that it will not determine the rest of your life. At the end of the day it is just writing on paper, and it’s not the end of the world if your don’t get straight A’s, as long as you tried your best that’s all that you can do. Exams test one very specific part of your knowledge, so you shouldn’t let that determine whether you smart or not. After getting your brain into this mind set, you will already begin to feel more relaxed about ‘results day’, because you’re not putting as much pressure on yourself. I have found throughout my years of school that having a positive mindset when entering these situations is one of the most important things, otherwise you are going to feel even more down and upset.

So know that I have explained the reasoning to why I am writing this, and how to approach results day, I am now going to give you some ways on managing the ‘results day anxiety’;

1. Surround yourself with people that you love – For me, a huge part of distracting myself from the thought of results day, and a great way to settle my nerves was surrounding myself with my loved ones. Whether that be your family, friends or even your companion, it really doesn’t matter as long as you feel calm and happy around them. Also, because they know the feelings you are experiencing they are more than likely to offer you support and love, which is crucial during this time of your life. Having that love and a positive atmosphere around you will help relax and settle your mind and avoid you from feeling over anxious for that dreaded day.
2. Don’t go alone but don’t allow a crowd – What I mean by this is that it’s important to take some people with you to collect your results, however, too many people can certainly be a disadvantage and you will begin to feel more pressured with a crowd.   In my opinion having your mum and dad as company is plenty, allowing any more than 2-3 people to come with you will pile the pressure, especially when you turn up with your friends who are also receiving their results, because then there is a sense of competition. Make sure you go with people that will show you love and support no matter what the end result.
3. Don’t keep your emotions to yourself – I have mentioned this before in one of my previous blog posts, but I believe this is especially relevant here. During the approach to results day you will be experiencing many various emotions, including nerves, guilt and negativity, and this is perfectly normal. It is also normal for teens to keep their emotions bottled up to themselves, and this is the mistake most people make. Speaking to ANYONE about your emotions will help you anxiety massively. Venting your feelings to people can often lead to more support which will help settle the nerves that you are feeling. If you bottle up your emotions then they will just grow and grow until you at a breakdown stage.
4. Make sure that you are organised! – This is especially applied for if you are going to University. It is crucial that you have all the numbers for the University/s that you are applying for just in case you don’t get the grades you require and you need to contact them to find out whether you are allowed in or not. If you have all this information ready, then you’re automatically going to feel more relaxed and less stressed, and it will ease the pressure if you don’t get the results. A lot of anxiety comes from the lack of preparation so make sure you do the small things before!
5. Get rest the night before and use my fundamental methods – For my fifth and final method all I can say is that it’s crucial to get an early night (if you find you can’t sleep be sure to read my blog on how to sleep with anxiety), because having a good nights rest will mean you are more emotionally stable and ready for the big day! Also if you feel yourself feeling anxious in the moment then use my tapping your thumb on your index finger to remain calm and collected.

I hope you have enjoyed reading this blog, and I hope my 5 methods help you or someone you know greatly! Even if this blog doesn’t apply to you directly, feel free to show people that it will effect, because there is thousands of teens out there that will be feeling extremely emotional at this time!

Thank you once again for reading, and I wish everyone who is receiving their results this month a HUGE good luck.

MindingAnxiety.

 

 

How to Create your Own Anxiety and Stress Relieving Slime

Hello again, and welcome to a brand new blog!

Today I have decided to introduce something new and very different to my blog, which will help people that suffer both anxiety and stress practically rather than mentally, as I believe both are just as effective as the other.

There are plenty of gadgets out there that are designed to combat anxiety, but they come with quite a large price tag for what they are. So I wanted to introduce a way to everyone, on how to make your own thing that is cheap and just as effective as these on the market.

At first it may seem quite weird and grim, but after recently jumping on the ‘slime trend’ and creating my own slime, I came to find that it is extremely satisfying and stress relieving to play with.

Making the slime is very cheap, as most of the things to require will be things you already have just lying around the house. There are many different ways to make slime, so please feel free to look around and find a recipe that is cheapest for you, but I am going to tell you the exact way that I made mine with.

The Recipe

What you will need

• PVA glue (This MUST be PVA not any other glue)
• Liquid Laundry detergent
• Everyday Eye drops (or anything that contains borax to activate the solution)
• Water
• shaving foam.
• A container or a tub to keep the slime in.
• A cup/bowl.
• Food colouring (OPTIONAL)

Method on making the slime;

1. Firstly, you will start by filling 1/4 of your cup with the PVA glue.
2. Now, you will need to add 1 table spoon of your liquid laundry detergent to the PVA glue, and mix throughly (then add your food colouring and mix if you would like) .
3. Now, you need to add the shaving foam. You can do this with shaving gel too, but ensure your mix it in your hands first to ensure it enters the solution as foam.
4. After this is added, give the solution a mix again. (a handful a foam should be enough)
5. Next, add your eye drops by only a couple of drops at a time. Mix the solution whilst adding the drops to ensure it all soaks in.
6. This should make your mix look like slime.
7. Once your happy with the consistency, you will notice it will still be very sticky. This is where the water comes in.
8. You will need to add water at very small amounts, whilst mixing, until the mix isn’t as sticky anymore.
9. Once you’ve got to the point where it’s not impossible to get off your hands, you can take the slime out of the cup and play with it in your hands. The slime will get less and less sticky the more the air gets to it. So stretch it out and squeeze it many times.
10. You should now be left with your stress and anxiety relieving slime!!

This is an example of one of mine that I had finished!!

I really hope the slime works for you, and remember add small amounts at a time as this is crucial! I promise you will find it very anxiety relieving and its especially good to distract yourself with.

Thank you for the continued support, I really appreciate it. Let me know how you find the slime!! :).

MindingAnxiety.

How to Deal with Starting New Things

Hello and welcome back!

I’m really sorry for the short break in blog posts, I have been unable to write a new one as I have been on holiday for the last couple of days!

Anyway, as I am hoping to start University in September I thought it may be a good idea to write a blog post helping you to manage beginning new things, whether that be starting a new school, or moving house, as one of the main things that triggers my anxiety personally is starting new things that I am not familiar with. So, lets get suck in with the first method on helping you balance anxiety and excitement;

1. When beginning new things it’s very common to feel anxious and for your brain to overthink about every possible negative thing it can, and this is where my first method comes in. To help your brain sway away from focussing on the negatives (which is natural) I believe its a very useful exercise to sit down and write all the wonderful and positive things the new opportunity will bring into your life. For example, if you’re starting University, you will have the opportunity of making some new and incredible friends. If you then read this list every time you feel either anxious or scared about the new thing, then your brain will naturally start to put the more positive things first which will ease the anxiety and will mean you are focusing in on the positives and not the negatives.
2. Secondly, when having anxiety, and when an event is coming up that you are anxious for, it is perfectly natural to feel you don’t want to talk about it with anyone, you just want to put it to the back of your mind and throw it away. BUT, I can personally tell you this is the worst thing you can possibly do! If you don’t express your feelings to someone and get all the bad things off your chest, then they will never go away. Talking to someone about your worries and anxiousness towards something can lead to them putting your mind straight and take your mind off that negative thought. It’s always incredibly satisfying for your brain to have a second opinion, which is more positive and will remove that negative thought forever.
3. My next and final tip is to become familiar with the place and the people you will be starting the new journey in and with. For example, if you’re going to University, you can join one of the Facebook pages for your course and talk to all the people you will be studying with. This means that when you arrive on that long awaited day, you will already have love and support waiting for you, which will ease the anxiety of not knowing anyone. Taking that massive worry away will leave you less to worry about, and having less to worry about is of course always better.

To round everything up nicely, it’s important to override the negatives with positives and to become familiar with everything, because anxiety is the fear of the unknown and the horrible trait of putting the negatives before the positives. If you remove both these things by using the three methods I have given you, I can assure you that everything will become less anxiety based and more exciting.

Thank you everyone for joining me once again, and thank you for your continued support. I would really appreciate any feedback, and tell me are you starting anything new? I would love to talk to someone on the same page as I’m on with University.

Minding Anxiety.

Travelling With Anxiety

Hello everyone, and welcome back to a new blog post!

As it’s the beginning of August, I figured many of you may be going on holiday, and so I thought it would be fitting to share my tips on how I keep my holidays as anxiety free as I possibly can.

The first thing I get really anxious about is catching the plane, especially as I’ve only done it a couple of times. I’m going to share some of my tips on how to stay calm and relaxed when catching the plane.

1. Listen to music – listening to music and shutting your eyes when taking off and landing will ease the nerves you are feeling, it will distract your brain from all the bad things running through your mind, and instead will keep you calm and collective. If you put on a song that means something to you and that you are somehow connected to, it may have a bigger effect as you will feel calm and ready for your holiday!!
2. Leave with plenty of time – The last thing you want to do when catching a plane, is be late!! So I advice you leave a lot earlier than you’re scheduled flight, to ensure that if there are any delays at check in or any other things that would hold you up, it won’t make you miss your flight. Having spare time will automatically mean you are feeling relaxed as you aren’t rushing around and panicking about making the flight and instead you can sit and relax, looking forward to your amazing holiday ahead!!
3. Carry a bottle of water with you – When travelling I always like to carry a bottle of water with me, because when I get anxious I become nauseous and very flustered. Having the bottle of water and taking small sips when I start to feel anxious not only takes the sick feeling away but also calms me down.
4. Take some form of entertainment – Personally, when I travel I love to take my iPad and download movies to watch on the flight, this will help time fly and will stop you from worrying about all of the negatives. This can be anything you enjoy, whether that be reading a book or playing a game, it really doesn’t matter as long as your brain is distracted.
5. Use some of my fundamental methods – My final recommendation for you when catching a plane, is to refer back to some of my fundamental methods, and use them when on the plane or just before. I tend to use the ‘tapping your index finger against your thumb’ method the most, as it is the easiest and therefore one of the best.

In terms of the actual holiday, my main suggestion it to plan in advanced! This applies especially If you’re travelling alone or with a friend with no family. Make sure everything is booked and you’ve allowed yourself enough money to not only buy food and drink but to have a good time. I can’t stress enough how much pressure it will take off your back if you have planned everything and you know what you’re going to do, because anxiety is the fear of the unknown, so eliminate that unknown and you will have less fear.

I also recommend to plan some fun activities with the people you’re travelling with, so you have something to look forward to. If you have something to look forward to then it will distract your mind from the negatives, and replace that feeling of anxiousness with excitement and anticipation!!

Aside from the facts I have given, and by using my top 5 fundamental ideas, there isn’t much more to stress about. Don’t let your anxiety hold you back as life is too short, enjoy every moment especially ones like holidays which will leave you with lifelong memories.

I really hope you have a great holiday, which will be anxious free and fun filled. Thank you once again for reading the blog, and I would love to hear how and if it has helped you on your holiday.

Minding anxiety.

 

5 Ways to Ensure a Good Nights Sleep

Hello, and welcome back to another blog!

As I have come to learn and I’m sure you have too, one of the hardest things to do when having anxiety is to sleep without worry, especially the day before a big event. This is why I have decided to dedicate this blog to talking about routines and methods you can take before going to bed to ensure that you get all the sleep you need to be happy and healthy the next day. There are many things you can do to ensure that you are worry free before going to bed, whether it be small or big, it will still make a difference.

1. Exercise – Firstly, an important factor is to ensure that you push yourself to exercise throughout the day, this will mean that you’re more likely to feel tired when it comes to the evening. An additional advantage of this is that  when you exercise your body releases chemicals that make you feel good, and so you will be put into a good mood with less worry so your mind will be nice and positive for the evening. If you don’t do anything all day, then your body isn’t burning any of the energy that it has gained through food, sleep and various other things, this means when it comes to bed time you will feel wide awake, leaving you thinking yourself into a bad mood. Personally, I like to do 30-60 minutes of exercise a day, but even a very short jog in the evening would help.
2. Have a stable sleeping pattern – Secondly, I believe that it is vital to have a stable sleeping pattern that you stick to every single night. it is also good to test different times you go to sleep and wake up to discover what you’re natural sleeping cycle is. With this method, you will find yourself being able to go to sleep easier each night as your body will adjust and get use to the timing.
3. Not having naps through the day – Napping through the day is something I am very guilty of doing, I find it extremely hard to stay awake for the full duration of the day especially when I’m not doing anything!! But, if you can manage to stop yourself from napping then do it! this will mean the you will feel more tired when it comes to the evening and therefore more likely to fall asleep quickly. I recommend keeping yourself busy to avoid the temptation of wanting to nap.
4. Not using electronics 30 minutes from going to sleep – This is very crucial when it comes to sleeping, if you use your electronics before going to bed it will wake your mind up as you are stimulating it. Instead I recommend reading a book, or listening to some calming music or ASMR sounds, this will relax your brain and make sure your mind is clear and relaxed before bed.
5. No snacking or drinking before bedtime – Make sure that you aren’t giving your body any extra energy through food and drink as this will sabotage your sleeping pattern and will make it harder to fall asleep. In fact articles suggest that you shouldn’t drink drinks with caffeine contents like coffee, after 3:00 pm in the afternoon. Instead take a glass to water to bed, as this will hydrate you but won’t wake you up in any way.

These have been 5 different ways in which you can do to ensure that you are ready for bed in the evenings. Of course there are many other methods, but there are the ones I found to be most effective personally. Thank you once again for taking the time out of your day to read this blog, I really do appreciate it. I also hope that this has helped, and please let me know some feedback of your thoughts on the blog.

Have a lovely day,

Minding anxiety.

 

 

 

My Top 5 Fundamental Methods

Hello, and welcome to my first ever blog post!!

Within this post I would like to introduce you to some of my more fundamental, however effective, methods of handling my anxiety. The best thing about these more simple methods, is that they can be used wherever and whenever they are needed. I have 5 different methods that I use on a day to day basis to keep myself calm, and to control my nerves when I’m in situations that make me feel uncomfortable or anxious.

1. Tapping my thumb against my index finger constantly – This may sound silly, but this is one of my favourite techniques that I use every single day to calm myself down. Tapping your finger distracts your brain, and in turn means that you won’t be overthinking about the situation as much. It also keeps your heart beat nice and calm as you are tapping at a nice and steady pace. I personally recommend this technique to anyone, in any situation.

2.  Zoning out and listening to nature – When in a stressful situation, I always find it very calming to just zone out and listen to all the different sounds that is made by nature. whether that be the wind resulting through the trees or the sound of rain. This will help you relax and will help distract you from all the stress and worries circulating your brain

3.  Inhaling deeply through the nose and exhaling out of the mouth – This is an old and well known trick that many know, and is still one of my favourites when it comes to feeling anxious. Oxygen is very good at calming you down, and so the more you can get the better. I used this method a lot when going through my exam periods just before entering the exam hall. This put me in such a different mind set, meaning I could answer the paper to the best of my ability.

4. Watching ASMR videos – This method applies more for when you find yourself overthinking at night and therefore unable to sleep. Watching ASMR videos has quite simply changed the way I feel at night time. I no longer sit and think about all the bad things I have to worry about, and instead I feel relaxed and ready for bed. This is perfect for when you have a nerve racking event the following day or something that is bothering you and I recommend watching these videos every night, and I promise you will notice a difference in your sleeping patterns and your health.

5. Having a hobby that you enjoy – This is the last method I have to share with you, but that doesn’t take away from the importance of it. In fact I believe this may be one of the most important things to have in order to lead a healthy and happy life. Having something to do or to look forward to will always keep your mind busy, and will stop more negative and unwanted thoughts entering your head. This is also a way to release any negative energy. This can be literally anything, weather that be making YouTube videos or playing sports, it really doesn’t matter, as long as your keeping yourself busy with something that you love.

These have been my top 5 simple technique and methods I use everyday to lead a life that isn’t controlled by my anxiety. I truly hope this blog has helped you in any kind of way and would love for you to let me know your thoughts and opinions!

Thank you very much for reading,

Minding Anxiety.