Managing our anxious moments... Part 2
Because there is just never enough time to discuss these topics which in turn, also gives me anxious feelings
Last week I was invited to speak on my own experiences with anxiety and overall what it feels like to not feel like “everyone else”.
We ran out of time and did not cover our true anxieties. Please have a skim over this short article if interested in learning the difference. Below, readers can find a short testimony of a moment I experienced with false anxiety.
The good news is, we have control over lessening our false anxieties - which allows for an easier process of elimination to what our true anxieties may be.
PART TWO!
On Wednesday 9 November, the health practitioners I’ve partnered with these last months, will again come together to facilitate these discussions.
This forum is again open to the public at the American Women’s Clubhouse; but kept to a female audience for this session. Give a shout if you’d like to join as my guest!
According to polyvagal theory, developed by Stephen Porges, our autonomic nervous system produces three elementary states:
Ventral vagal (social, safe and engaging)
Sympathetic (flight or fight mode activation)
Dorsal vagal (immobilisation or shutting down in freeze/faint)
When under stress, our sympathetic nervous system is designed to help survive stressful or life-threatening situations which triggers flight or fight modes.
The result can be for many that live in constant states of stressful moments, an overstimulated nervous system which when depleted, leads to sickness, burn out, exhaustion.
Aspiring to live within practices of stimulation to ventral vagal support :
Meditation
Breath work
Singing, humming, chanting, gargling
Self-massage
Small but intentional movements in your body (dancing, tapping, shaking, jumping)
Cold therapy; i.e. ice baths!
False anxiety can quickly be identified by the ability to be self-aware and applying calming techniques to release the otherwise tense symptoms.
My first experience with an anxious moment happened on a flight, upon landing, a couple of decades ago.
The plane ride had been delayed, otherwise hectic, and I was en route to meet a person whom I hadn’t seen in awhile. Wasn’t sure how the trip was to go and had some conflicting emotions about it. Basically I was annoyed, upset, and had allowed the thoughts of my overthinking brain to take over the physical reaction in my body.
I could have distracted myself elsewhere, but wasn’t self aware enough at the time to understand what was happening.
As the plane taxied to the gate, my heart rate immediately escalated and my body grew increasingly warm in temperature. The pilot announced there was a delay in reaching the gate. Just another thing to be bothered with.
My breath centered in my chest and I could not seem to calm my rational logic into thinking I was okay. I wanted off the jet immediately as felt sweaty and with the need to rush to a more private place like the bathroom, which of course wasn’t an option. Knowing I didn’t have more private options, was proving difficult to further manage a calm state.
The woman next to me noticed my irritation and asked if I was okay. She was sitting next to me but her voice sounded like she was far away, in a tunnel. I couldn’t respond to her immediately.
She maintained eye contact and kept telling me we would be arriving very soon, while also encouraging me to breathe. I focused my sight on her lips as she repeated herself over and over:
Inhale
Exhale
Inhale
Exhale
My senses were numb at that point, my breath advanced too quickly to my brain causing me to become discombobulated as well as triggered a sudden drop in my already innately low blood pressure.
It took a bit to regulate the physical components that were occurring, but with the help of another person adding simple physical instructions keeping me very focused in the moment, I was able to recalibrate and move my breath deeper into my stomach to calm the mild attack.
It is often I meet people on planes that impact me in interesting ways. If cannot thank this woman that sat next to me in person again, then at the very least I share my experience to perhaps be of help to someone else. There are learnings here!
We can learn not to live in the thoughts of our minds that give us anxiety. Self awareness plays a big part which has taken decades of moments to practice for me personally.
Feel free to reach out if you’d like to discuss your own experiences in managing anxiety.
Keeping Breathing,
Audra