I was going to let this blog go. I felt that expressing the feelings and going back over these events was stressing me out.
Then a friend told me that she thought I should continue. She described this blog as "authentic". So I'm back. I re-read my previous posts this morning, and I realized that she is right. The things I have written are true. They really happened, and the feelings I am describing are also real.
I have a friend on Facebook that is having a hard time today. Many of us have jumped in to try to help. We have suggested many many forms of therapy that have worked for us in the past. But, the reality of the situation is that she needs to find her own way. Hopefully, one of our suggestions will work for her. Possibly they won't and she will need to do research to find her own way of coping.
So, what works for me?
Well, coloring. Yes, coloring. Think about it. It's simple. It takes no thought. It's totally stress free. It doesn't matter. If you go outside the lines, it has no effect, positive or negative on your life.
Feeling really really really anxious and have so much nervous energy you just don't know what to do with it? Keep a phone book handy. Generally speaking, phone books are pretty much useless now. We all have the numbers programmed into our phones and if we don't, we go online to look. However, a phone book is one of the most useful tools I have found for excess anxiety energy. Rip that sucker apart!!!! Just go nuts on it! Someone in a particular field of business making you super angry? Start with that section of the yellow pages and make confetti. Then destroy the rest of the book. You will be so tired when you are done and will feel so much better. If you don't, then get another phone book and go to town on that one to. They are free, they are constantly being delivered to you. You don't even have to try to gather up this valuable resource of energy purging!
Another wonderful resource is Anxiety Zone. This website is not filled with doctors telling you what to do. It is a website of forums and chat rooms filled with fellow sufferers, sharing their coping skills. I have found it extremely useful in times of high anxiety.
Right now, my life as I know it, is good. I haven't had many panic attacks. I'm getting a part time job outside of the home to test the waters of my stress, and let's face it, for the money. My husband and I have refaced the kitchen and it's beautiful. We still pray that the Bath Crashers from the DIY network will show up in our town just as we are in Home Depot or Lowes. Oh our master bath is a disaster!!!!
But things are good. Things are moving forward. The stumbling blocks are not sending me running for my bed. I'm feeling pretty decent.
Still breathing
