My Top 33 Anxiety Busters

-

My Top 33 Coping Mechanisms When I’m Anxious:

  1. Listening to and singing along with folklore by Taylor swift
  2. Listening to Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours Album and anything with Stevie Nick's Goddess-like voice 
  3. Listening to the Eclectic Mom Musings Playlist
  4. Listening to My Favorite Murder Podcast
  5. Eating comforting foods (I’m looking at you, Dairy Queen)
  6. Watching “Ask a Mortician” videos on YouTube
  7. Watching Parks and Recreation on a loop (Leslie Knope is my Spirit Animal!) 
  8. Grounding Techniques: I like this one!
  9. Meditating
  10. Doing a Yoga with Adrienne Video
  11. Napping 
  12. Sitting on my front porch, breathing in the fresh air
  13. Cuddling with my dog Jovie 
  14. Going for a walk
  15. Crying
  16. Stretching/Freestyle Yoga
  17. Laying in my reading nook and focusing on my breath
  18. Playing outside with my daughter 💗
  19. Cuddling and watching The Nightmare Before Christmas with my daughter 💜
  20. Family cuddles watching Bluey in Bed 💙 (and that theme song getting stuck in all our heads)
  21. Sipping on a cup of hot tea: I love the Tazo Passion Herbal Tea
  22. Spending time with my husband, listening to music, watching wrestling, and being our sarcastic asshole selves 
  23. Texting supportive friends and family 
  24. Journaling 
  25. Driving in the car with the windows down, blasting music and singing my heart out
  26. Hanging in the Mom Loft alone with all the candles lit and incense burning
  27. Playing with my Tarot Cards 
  28. Reading (Check out my new Book Club!)
  29. Writing a Blog Post (Thanks for stopping by 😘)
  30. Watching inspirational, gothic, and graveyard Tiktoks (Where my taphophiles at?!?)

  31. Scrolling through Instagram reading inspirational quotes 
  32. Looking at old photos to bring back fond memories, like me rocking this killer "Punk" shirt and insulin pump on my hip (I think I see a medical alert bracelet too!!)
  33. Taking a long, hot shower while envisioning the negativity washing off of me like a black sludge, only letting the positive remain


My Top 3 Coping Mechanisms When I’m Anxious AND Struggling with Disordered Eating:

  1. EAT EVERYTHING!!!!! 
  2. WAIT NO, EAT NOTHING!!! 
  3. NOW I’M STARVING… BINGE

(This vicious cycle goes round and round till my anxiety subsides) 

That’s it. My only coping mechanism in those moments. I freeze up, like a deer in headlights. Desperately looking for a way out. Oh wait, there it is. The one thing my body and brain know makes me feel better, food. A quick hit of dopamine and serotonin when my brain is severely depleted. Did you notice all the amazing things on my list when my eating disorder isn’t triggered? I can cope with my anxiety in so many ways, including things that help my physical health as well. Movement. Joy. Sunshine. Family time. But good old disordered eating keeps you trapped in the only coping mechanisms it knows. Food. 

As I progress in my journey of recovery and healing (which is never linear), I am realizing how important mental health is to the bigger picture. When I’m in a good place mentally, it is so much easier to utilize healthy coping mechanisms like yoga and going for a walk. I’m a firm believer that if you work on your brain, your body will follow. It can feel selfish at times, insisting you need alone time when your husband wants to talk or bailing on plans with your friends, but anxiety doesn’t take into consideration your schedule when it strikes. 

I share this with you, not for a pity party, or to make you uncomfortable, but to help those who don’t struggle with mental health get a glimpse into what we are going through. When we seem distant, apathetic, selfish, etc. We are grasping at every possible coping mechanism in those moments. Anything to help ground us. Bring us back to ourselves, our bodies. Instead of being trapped in our brains. We are clawing our way back to you, so we can be the mother, wife, daughter, friend, coworker, you need and deserve. We are giving it everything we’ve got. 

For those of you who are struggling, I hope my list gives you some new ideas. Tools for your toolbox. If you have a go-to coping mechanism you would like to share, please comment down below

Love, Jess 💜


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dear Young Type 1

-
Image
A few weeks back, I started a very cool research study for those with type 1 diabetes, who also struggle with their body image. I initially came across it and did not qualify because I was over the age range they were looking for. But recently, I got an email about them expanding to 35 years old, so I JUST made the cut. I'm so thankful I did and I plan to write more about it in the future. Each week we are given homework assignments. After taking a break from blogging when my Grandma passed away , this has inspired me to get back to writing. For now, I wanted to share my homework from the first week. Writing is really cathartic for me, getting it all out on the page. We were asked to write a letter to a younger individual with type 1 diabetes who is struggling with their body image about the costs of pursuing the "thin ideal". Here is what I wrote: Dear Young Type One- I am so sorry you’re struggling with your body image, considering chasing the impossible dream of the “
Read more

Grieving Halloween

-
Image
With the final hours of Halloween coming to an end, I sit in the Mom Loft  thinking about what Halloween means to me. Sure, I love spooky stuff, skulls  and witchy shit (cue Stevie Nicks), but Halloween is so much more to me. Some say Halloween is when the veil between our world and the next is at its thinnest, allowing us to connect with loved ones who have passed. Día de los Muertos is another holiday this time of year that revolves around connecting with our dearly departed. The way they build ofrendas for their deceased family is so beautiful to me. I do something similar in my home, displaying pictures of my ancestors on the wall. It makes me feel connected to the bigger picture.  This year, Halloween just hit differently. It was one of my Grandma B.’s favorite holidays. She would always dress up at work, with her quirky earrings and funny costumes. I ended up inheriting most of the earrings, and wore them proudly the last few weeks.  I miss my Grandma B. so very much, it hurts
Read more

Lost in the Woods

-
Image
Lately I've been feeling like I’m lost in the woods, or in some sort of weird limbo. This is the best I have felt in a long time, but it’s not what I had been anticipating. There are these fleeting moments when I start to feel like a true human being. Not the shell whose life is dictated by so many external factors: the Zombie Jess . Sure, I am better able to talk through and then go into situations that generally give me severe anxiety, but something is missing. I’m not entirely sure what. I’m making small, but sustainable changes in my life, while also celebrating bigger milestones, like being alcohol free for almost 8 months . That should be a bigger deal, but I’ve been hesitant to celebrate it. Not that I plan to drink again anytime soon, if ever. But I guess I thought I’d be “better” by now.  "Cured". I’d finally heal what had been ailing me. Anxiety. Depression. Self-loathing.  Sadly no, they were there the whole time, alcohol just suppressed them, allowing the woun
Read more