SO MUCH GOING ON……
So, scrolling through social media and talking to friends, I am seeing that so many people are anxious right now about this election and what is happening in our country. I will admit, I am feeling quite a bit of anxiety about what tomorrow will bring. Will we have ‘four more years’ or will there be a new regime? There is also a lot of worry about the tensions that seem to be rising and concerns of what will happen if people don’t agree with the candidate who is elected.
Contribute the feelings to the change in the moon, Mercury being in retrograde or wherever she is… we are feeling it!- but I wanted to take a moment out to talk about how we can let go of some of the anxiety/stress/weird energy we are feeling. The easiest, and what I feel is the most important, is extinguish the stress meaning get away from the stress. Turn the television/radio off. As a society, we overdose ourselves with media coverage. Tune into something more enjoyable like a cooking show, sports, or even cartoons 😁.
Now, not everything is for everyone so these are just a few ideas that I have as a person who has had these feelings, as a therapist of more than 20 years, and as a person who has had friends with anxiety. Try them if you wish. If they work, great; if not, keep trying. Remember, these are not substitutes for going to get professional help if you need it. If you need some referrals, let me know and I am happy to help.
Here are some of the ‘traditional’ suggestions:
- Be physically active. Being active will get all the ‘good juices’ (endorphins) flowing and help to reduce or eliminate anxiety (and depression). This can be as simple 30 minutes of movement whether it is walking, running, dancing… whatever. Just move.
- Do some visualization/guided imagery. This may be something that you have never heard of but it is very easy to do. Guided imagery is simply the use of words and/or music to evoke positive imaginary scenarios in a person with a view to bringing about some beneficial effect (in this case reduced anxiety and stress). It can be done with a person or you can use recording. If this is something that sounds interesting, check out Headspace (https://www.headspace.com/meditation/guided-imagery) and start your free account.
- Write/journal. Maybe you are an introvert or the thought of telling someone what you think or feel freaks you out, writing is a perfect outlet. It is your place to let the ideas, fears, thoughts, and emotions flow. There is no right or wrong way to do it. It is all about you. Some people write in a book or just an online journal spot. Some people actually write on a piece of paper and once they are done, they burn it as a symbol of letter it go. It is up to you to choose.
- Get into your spirituality/religion. Maybe reading prayer it the answer. Maybe it is fasting. Maybe it is reading the Bible or the Coran. Maybe it is meditation. Any of these practices can be a great way of taking care of you.
Now of course there are some other things we may not thing of, such as:
- Coloring or Drawing. Get back to your childhood with some crayons or markers and color. It can be so relaxing to just color a picture of a flower or your favorite action figure. Coloring books can be as cheap as $1 so why not try it!
- Singing. What could be better than rocking out to our favorite song. You don’t even have to be a great singer (just make sure your windows are closed so no one hears you!).
This is not a complete list of all the things you can do, rather it is meant to be a way to get you thinking about what works for you. So, if you try any of these, let me know how it works for you. If you have suggestions of some I should add to the list, let me know.
Hope this is helpful …
Erika ❤❤