jagovino My last blog post explained the paralyzing anxiety I dealt with at the end of the school year and into my summer break. Many people have asked me to share what has been working for me in terms of getting back to myself. Although I do not consider myself 100% back to normal, I am doing certain things each day that seem to help easy my anxiety while also taking the time to learn new ways to deal with the anxiety I have had my whole life. Everyone is different and deals with medical issues in their own way, and I am in no way a professional on this matter. First and foremost, I went back on my meds. My whole spiral started when I stopped taking Prozac after being on it for a very long time. After I suffered severe withdrawal symptoms from going off the medication too fast, I was immediately put back on. The medicine has helped tremendously with easing the constant panic that existed in my mind and body for so many weeks. But, medicine is not a cure. It certainly puts a buffer on those anxious thoughts that plagued me 24 hours a day, but I am learning that I need to incorporate other strategies into my daily life in order to really heal. Below are the things that seem to be working for me and are relatively easy to incorporate into any routine.
AM Workouts
The summers allow me to start my day with a workout at a reasonable hour. During the school year, I am up at 5:30 AM so I have always struggled to get up any earlier to work out. With my summer schedule, I am finding daily AM workouts are the perfect way to start my day. I have also started going back into the gym, rather than just using the Peloton at home. Being around other people is motivating and also gives me a reason to get out of the house in the AM! My anxiety tends to be worse when I wake up, as our cortisol levels are highest in the mornings. Morning workouts help bring cortisol levels down and getting my body moving earlier in the day helps with that early anxiety. I have also learned that not every workout has to be a sweat session. Some days I do a 20-minute yoga class and 10-minute meditation. I have also started to get back into pilates. A 20-minute strength class is just as good as an hour-long boot camp, as long as my body is moving. I just hope I can come up with a routine that can sustain this during the school year. Any tips from my fellow early risers, or teachers, on how to motivate for an early morning workout, are greatly appreciated!
Scheduling My Day
One of my biggest triggers when I first started suffering in June was being left alone. For the first two weeks, I could not be left alone, which was really hard since I usually cherish my alone time. What teachers often don’t talk about is how hard it is to go from a scheduled routine every day during the school year, to all of a sudden having so much free time. We don’t talk about it because we don’t want to sound ungrateful for this time off, but it certainly is a jolt to the system. I have always struggled with the first few weeks of summer as a teacher and adjusting to my new schedule. This year, I made it a habit to schedule my days. Making lunch dates with friends, having people over for a little pool time, reading a book at the beach, and getting some work done on my laptop for a few hours at the local coffee shop. Anything to get me out and about for a few hours and to structure my day has eased my anxiety while also creating a nice little routine for myself. I find that when I have something on the calendar each day, my anxiety is settled waking up each day knowing that my day has some structure.
Reading and Researching
I love to read but find it hard to keep up during the school year. Summertime has always been my chance to get my reading fix. This year I have really tried to savor the quiet time. I used to get antsy if all I did was sit on my porch and read and just lounge around at home all day. Now, I relish it! I am really trying to focus on giving myself some grace and allowing myself to just be. Reading has been a great way to relax my body and mind. I have also started reading more about anxiety and how to cope with it. One of the books that I have learned so much from is called, “Anxiety RX” by Dr. Rusell Kennedy. He writes about his own experience with trauma and anxiety and to learn how to separate thoughts from feelings. As I dive deeper into this book, I find myself agreeing with a lot of what he is suggesting and it makes me feel heard in my quest to learn strategies on how to deal with my anxiety.
Weekly Therapy
I have always been “in therapy” but learned that I never fully utilized my therapists for my real issues. My therapy sessions were more like a place for me to vent and for someone to be my sounding board. Once I went through my “breakthrough“, I contacted my therapist and told her I wanted to dive deeper into my past and really get to the heart of where some of this anxiety comes from. Through EDMR and talk therapy that focuses on my childhood, I have learned so many things about myself and how I cope with stress and anxiety. It is eye-opening to learn more about yourself and who you are and what you are made of to truly understand where our behaviors come from. I am a highly sensitive person who has always had anxiety, but learning that anxiety is a part of who I am but isn’t a part of me that will take me down is very empowering.
Connecting with Friends
They always say that good things come out of suffering and I now know this to be true. The biggest thing I gained from experiencing withdrawal and intense anxiety, was learning who my true friends are and how I have the most amazing support system. When I was struggling with feeling alone and anxious thoughts, my friends were a call or a house visit away. Some who worked from home, would just text me and say, “I am here if you need me”. Just that message eased my anxiety and made me recognize that the irrational thought of being alone was not the reality, that I was actually surrounded by an amazing support network. As we get older, it’s so important to harness friendships and to support one another through struggles. I only hope I can be there for my friends the way they have been there for me.
I still have a long way to go on this journey and plan to continue to learn more about myself and the mind/ body connection. Any tips that have helped for you would be greately appreciated in the comments below!
