I signed up bc I am really struggling with anxiety right now. It's been exacerbated by the pandemic. Most of my activities that kept me healthy (water jogging and water aerobics) have been cancelled for over a year now.
I have 2 kids, 10 and 15, and all there activities have been cancelled for a year as well. In person school is sporadic. They are isolated.
I am still going to psychotherapy regularly. I take antidepressants.
I have 2 dogs, 2 cats, 4 rats and one husband. (😉)
When I am not in the middle of a weeks- long anxiety episode, I am good at providing support for others.
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BrainIsFull
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I have heard that rats make excellent pets. I also read that there is an annual convention for rat owners and their rats (in the US). I'm sure it has been cancelled because of covid. You are, however lucky to have so many pets. Do the rats live in cages, or can they run around the house. I am an animal lover, so just curious.
Anxiety and depression can creep in when you are used to doing a lot of exercising and then have to suddenly stop. Is there something else you can do in the meantime, such as walking, yoga at home, serious yard work, etc. I am sure these are not as much fun, but can release some endorphins. 😁😁
G'day BrainIsFull, I know the feeling, I've been to and from work throughout the majority of the apocalypse, unfortunately my busy reception desk has been reduced to eight hours staring at a computer screen with only a handful of people needing help throughout the day. When it all kicked off, I already had depression and anxiety disorder, PTSD from a road accident the previous year, and through the course of the Counselling that finished in April last year, I also found out that I was likely on the Autism Spectrum. I've therefore had a long year, unable to do anything, too much time to think and the realization that I don't really know who I am. On top of everything, I have major issues with my management team who aren't supportive of my Mental Health. Needless to say, it's been tough. The things that have helped me, are hobbies, Buddhist philosophy and DDPYoga. Obviously you don't need to choose the same options, but I sew which helps to keep my brain happy and focused, I like miniatures as well but I need new clothes and I can really only do one at a time due to space constraints.
DDPYoga is great for me as it's cheap, varied and unlike normal yoga which I don't get on with, this was created by a wrestler who also mixed in physiotherapy techniques and a lot less Om and Ah. I think I've seen kids workouts so you could even involve your kids which could be fun? Anyhow, sorry, don't mean to turn this into a sales pitch.
Buddhism is also very helpful as not only are there plenty of meditation techniques from guided to chanting (there are plenty on youtube so absolutely free) often, there are very practical solutions, ways of changing your perception which I found invaluable. Sometimes the way of dealing with a problem is to step back and have a look from a different angle. Buddhism can teach you how to do that.
Finally, I stopped watching TV as it was causing me problems. Hobbies are much better. You need something to focus on so it clears your mind of anything other than what your trying to do. Having the TV on, even in the background, divides your attention and lets other thoughts creep in through the cracks. That's part of the reason I like sewing and miniatures. Every stitch requires a bit of concentration to keep it going in the right direction, keep it tidy, etc. But it also doesn't tax my brain. I generally feel refreshed when I've been able to sit down with it for a while.
I'm glad you have animals. They are wonderful. I wish I had a cat to keep me in check but not possible in my current circumstances.
Welcome to the group, there are plenty of lovely people here, all over the world so there is always bound to be at least one person in a timezone that you can chat to at 3am if needed. Unfortunately I'm not very good at keeping up with what is happening but by all means, message me if you need me. I'm always happy to help if I can.
I spend lots of time numbing my mind with social media. It's not really helpful.🤣 I guess I am like everyone, struggling to find a balance. I do try to get enough exercise. Right now I just walk. Everything else is closed. I used to do water Jogging. The combination of water, group sports, music and a motivating trainer dud the trick for me. So my healthy coping mechanisms have been taken away. I am so sick of this freaking pandemic.
I too, have had anxiety since I was a little kid and am now almost 38. I had been doing well up until about 2 months ago when I started to have increased anxiety and panic attacks. I’m back in school-LPN to RN and only have 3 more months-that combined with just life, a new puppy, working and balancing a relationship I think just got to be too much and my intrusive thoughts and anxiety came back with a vengeance. On Friday I switched my meds per my doc order from celexa to Zoloft so patiently waiting for that to kick in in a week or two. So until then my anxiety will most likely be worse until I get that therapeutic blood level of the Zoloft. It’s so hard to try and stop with the intrusive thoughts but I’m really trying to work on that probably for the first time in my life. It’s so hard trying to talk about this too with someone Who has never experienced anxiety because it’s a hard concept to understand. Reach out to your friends that you have when you need them do your mantras, come on here and write some thing down because it does help take your medications and see your therapist because it will get better and it has gotten better in the past so it can get better in the future. It will get better.
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