One of the questions I have asked myself about my anxiety was wondering if my level of anxiety is abnormal as it can be a natural emotion in many situations. However, I have realised recently that one thing I can be guilty of and that I need more help with is getting false ideas in my head and fixating on them for an unnecessary long time. This can be small things like suddenly worrying that I haven’t locked the door after I have gone out and worrying about the potential consequences of that when in all likeliness, I probably have but it is just an automatic thing that you never have to put much thought into. Or it can be bigger things like in times of social anxiety when I start to believe that I’m unlovable and I start to think of all the things that could back up that point when I should be like a giraffe and remember what I am good at. As you can imagine, this can have a negative impact on my life so it would only seem right to seek more advice on how to prevent these thoughts occurring.

As I have said before, for a long time, my coping mechanism was to bottle things up until I got really distressed and had to tell someone. However, I realised that this coping mechanism wasn’t very healthy and I needed to learn a more effective way of coping through professional help.

I have done two sets of talking therapies now. The first one was through uni which I would say was a good starting block to help me become aware of what my issues are and to start to challenge why I believe certain things about myself. The second set through a private counsellor incorporated more of that but with some practical exercises that I could do too. I am currently looking into more medical options for my anxiety so I will see how that goes and update you further down the line.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope you find it helpful. As always, feel free to get in touch with any questions/feedback/comments, I always love to hear it. Stay tuned for the next instalment.

Until next time

Kathryn