have you ever felt worried but you couldn't exactly pinpoint about what? Have you doubted your abilities or professional performance without any trigger? Then you probably experienced a form of anxiety.
In today's busy world anxiety and other mental health problems have become more widespread than ever, but thankfully awareness about them is rising too, as are opportunities to find help and relief.
I've been suffering from anxiety from my early teens. I was always known as a child that worried a lot in my family, but this worrying and overthinking became extreme in my last years of secondary school, especially manifesting itself in exam anxiety. While it's been an up and down since, throughout the years I've thankfully found some physical things and techniques that have helped me to relieve periods of anxiety relatively fast.
Lush "Twilight" Body Spray
I've loved the scent of the "Twilight" bath bomb from Lush ever since I first became a customer of the brand about 10 years ago, so I'm super happy that in the last couple of years they launched more products with the same soothing lavender and tonka scent, including this body spray.
The day I got my first bottle I came home from work around 7pm and sprayed it on my pillow before I lay down to watch a movie. Next thing I know I woke up in the dark at 10 pm - the spray had completely knocked me out. Ever since then I've been using it in the same way - sprayed on my pillows and sheets - if I've had a stressful day or I've just generally been feeling anxious around night time in order for the essential oils to work their magic and help soothe my mind and help me drift of to a good night's sleep.
Lavender Flower Tea
If I'm feeling on edge during the day, I tend to pop the kettle on and prepare myself a nice (travel)cup of lavender tea. Similar to the effect of the Lush body spray, smelling the aroma of the tea and drinking it helps to soothe my mind and take the edge off severe feelings of anxiety.
I personally like to drink the lavender flower tea which I buy in my favourite tea house here in London - the Teahouse Theatre in Vauxhall -, but a quick google search will help you find numerous options for where to order or buy similar teas.
Cognitive reframing/restructuring
This is a technique I've learnt from a good friend of mine who works as a mental health professional.
Whenever I am overwhelmed by feelings of anxiety or feel a panic attack approaching, I need to rationalise my feelings in order to help my body relax. To do so I mentally go through the following questions:
1. How am I feeling?
2. Why am I feeling like this?
3. What evidence is there that I should be feeling like this?
4. What evidence is there that I shouldn't be feeling like this?
In 99 of 100 cases the I can give a lot more answers to 4. than I can to 3., which helps to put my situation into perspective, since it takes me off the emotional rollercoaster I am on and allows me to look at what I am facing almost from an outsider's perspective. Once you realise that your negative feelings are based purely on your perception and interpretation of what might be happening or about to happen, it does help you a lot to calm down.
May x
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