ANXIETY AND THE ONE THING I AVOID TO KEEP ME SANE

Every recovering anxiety sufferer has little tricks up their sleeves to help alleviate those nasty anxiety attacks.
We become good like that, as we are so desperate to rid ourselves of the debilitating symptoms, that we practice trial and error one after the other until we find things that work for us.

However there is one thing that I avoid and I will swear by it until the day I die. This simple but highly effective 'avoidance' will save you a lot of added anxiety and depression.

I am talking about mainstream media. 

Most people are shocked to hear that in the 8 years that my husband and I have been married, we have not bought a newspaper and we have not watched a news broadcast either. The simple reason is this: mainstream media loves to talk about drama, negativity and politics and we, the viewers and readers get sucked into it, and the more shocking and chaotic news is, the more people seem to be focused on it.

People don't seem to realise that things like mainstream media are extremely damaging to us - especially for people who are of a sensitive nature. While it may not seem like it on a conscious level, deep down we can be effected because we are constantly being bombarded with all this negativity day after day. If we not reading about it, we are listening to it, and if we not listening to it or watching it, then we talking about it amongst ourselves, and this ends up creating a negative, anxious and worried mind set.

My advice to you is this: If you struggle with anxiety or depression or lots of stress, cut out the mainstream media!
Instead of watching the news, watch a light - hearted comedy. Instead of reading a newspaper, read an inspirational book, and actually this brings me to another point.

Social media. Do you know that the other day I actually uninstalled Facebook from my phone and my IPAD. The only way I can access it now is via my PC computer, and it was one of the best things I could ever have done for myself in a mental capacity.

I'm not saying it's easy - especially now where everything is dominated by technology, and almost all of our business's have a Facebook page.

​I'm not telling you to give it up - I'm suggesting to you to reduce your time on it. If you run your business online or via social media, focus on keeping your business page updated but don't spend hours scrolling through feeds, filling your mind with negativity and constant complaining from people who love to air their dirty laundry on their social media profiles. 

You are going to feel so much better for it. You obviously don't have to be as drastic as me, but just work on slowly reducing your time watching or reading news stories and focus on adding in something that is positive. Make a rule to read 10 pages from a positive inspirational book every night before you go to bed or maybe watch a funny movie, instead of a movie that you know is going to mess with your mind.

Sometimes other people will see this as burying your head in the sand but it's really not that at all. You need to protect yourself. We know bad things are happening in the world, and unfortunately we cannot change the things that have happened. We can only focus on being better people and try to spread love and positivity each day and to whomever we meet. Honestly, I just don't see the point of constantly bombarding my already anxious self with all these depressing stories that I can't do anything about! .

You have to prioritise certain things in life, and prioritising something like recovering from anxiety disorder is something that is a priority! If that means changing, avoiding or doing certain things in your life to help in this recovery, then you need to do them.

Yes there is a lot of ignorance out there, and many people will question why you do certain things in a certain way - especially if they cannot relate to them, but at the end of the day, this is about you and your recovery, and no matter how strange it may sound to someone else, if it helps your anxiety disorder - then stand strong and do it!
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