Tales from a Bruised Mind

I’m going to be honest: I have been more stressed, anxious and worried lately than I have been in quite some time.

It seems that as soon as I open my eyes at the very start of the day, I begin worrying about anything and everything, which is just so bloody hard, as well as tiring.

But I’ve been like this before. I’ve spent months in the past dreading the idea of getting out of bed and facing the day.

Eventually, it would get to the stage where I got so worked up that I made myself nauseous, and would physically throw up just at the thought of trying to go face first into the day ahead.

I remember pretty clearly going through a real big anxiety rough patch around the middle of 2019. I had a job interview at RACQ, one of the big Queensland insurance companies, to work in the publishing part of their business. I recall taking the train into the Brisbane CBD and, I remember as clear as ever in my mind, that I was just so sick in the stomach. I honestly thought I was going to vomit on the train, or in the bloody lobby of RACQ!

And yet, somehow, I got through the interview without throwing up everywhere and ended up landing the six month cadetship/internship position.

My brain had such a huge freak out that day, something I will never, ever forget. But from then onwards, I realised how much power my brain has to create physical reactions and symptoms, like nausea, to become a major problem in high stress moments for me.

Now, I am facing similar issues of sorts, so allow me to explain and recap how I got through it last time and will get through it again this time. Allow me to do a bit of self-talk – it helps.

Working through issues, one step at a time

At this very moment, I’m worrying about all the small, teeny tiny things in my life, like whether I’ll be stuck in traffic on the way to and from work, I’m anxious about my time management (which is usually very good) and have had bouts of feeling sick to the stomach.

It’s not great.

But in times like these, I have to look back at how I managed in the past and learn from those experiences.

The above RACQ experience was hard, sure, but eventually I got past it. Heck, I even got a job out of it! Here’s what happened, I’ll try my best to remember:

• I started my motoring journalist position at RACQ, and although it was difficult to start with, I made it work. Plus, work took my mind off things.
• I continued to recieve care from my professional support network
• I became busy enough that life just rolled forward without me really doing anything
• I realised that it was just my mind playing tricks and making me feel that way
• I realised that these feelings and physical responses wouldn’t be forever and that they would ultimately pass
• I began to feel much happier again and enjoy living my life

See! If you’re patient enough, only the best can happen for you!

How I can use past experiences to fix my current situation

It’s important to look back at the past and reflect on what has worked well and not worked so well.

I guess I can break down how to deal with anxiety and stress with a couple of key steps:

1. Find out what is making you stressed/anxious
2. Work to solve the issues surrounding that particular bugbear
3. Remember that these feelings will pass with time. Be patient
4. Seek support if needed
5. Do deep breathing technique

So onwards I go, and I hope things get better with time. Patience… patience.

Love,

Zak