Also look for me at
https://blueinkonadragonstail.wordpress.com/
I thought I'd share something that has a large impact on my life and how writing has helped me cope.
At
some point in all our lives, we will all suffer from anxiety of some
description. It comes with being human. Some, unfortunately, will suffer more than others.
I
suffer from anxieties and panic attacks, to the point that sometimes it will
send me to hospital with me thinking I’m having a heart attack. Anyone who has
experienced this will understand where I’m coming from. It can happen anywhere,
I can be angry, sad, happy, excited, anxiety holds no bias.It can happen two or three days after any
particular stressful event. I can experience an attack if I’m too involved when
writing an intense scene – can you imagine the helplessness I feel when I
became frighten to write? Here is something I enjoy!
When
I was first ‘officially’ diagnosed with an anxiety/panic disorder (seven or
more years ago), and began the cognitive behaviour treatment, one of the tasks
was to write a daily diary.I recently
came across my diaries from that time, and it gave me such a powerful insight
to how I was and how far I have come.
I’ve
always had a diary. Whether I wrote in it or not, was and is another matter. So
it wasn’t much of a task for me, at that time, to record my days.I found that simply writing down my thoughts,
events and episodes helped me gain a perspective in my head. I began to see
patterns and I began to see light at the end of the tunnel.
I
still have anxieties and every now and then I will have a bad one that will
make me doubt if this is a panic attack or something more serious. But I know
how to cope, I know what they are, sometimes I even know what triggers them.
It’s a long journey, but I’m not letting it control my life as completely as it
once did.There are steps backwards, but
many more forward.
In
a way it’s like writing a novel.
With
every step I take in my journey in writing, I am reminded that it takes time,
there is light at the end of the tunnel. I will take steps forward and there will be
steps back. I will keep plodding along with the help and support of family and
friends.
And
please remember: If you or anyone you know suffers from anxieties and/or
depression, there is help available.