Riding the Anxiety Wave

Learning to Ride the Wave (aka the upside of high anxiety is a CLEAN house!!)

This week has been hard! I’ve been experiencing a high anxiety spike with some challenging personal circumstances, not to mention the end of year rush.

I have wonderful people all around me, I’ve reached out to my awesome family and whānau and am taking my medication diligently as well as taking time to walk, pray, dance and listen to music as I am working.

I have ALSO used this surge of nervous energy to control what I can - my environment. That’s right - I have been downsizing and decluttering like a woman on a mission!!

Now don’t get me wrong, I am not minimising the symptoms of mental health challenges or making a joke out of them - trust me I know how hard this stuff is. But there’s this other side to the waves of highs and lows that I have learnt to ride as they come under control.

When I am melancholy, I get creative. When I am WIRED, I get productive!

So right now, while I am doing all the right things to help me to calm down, sleep better, gain perspective and move forward, I’m also maximising the energy that is sitting in my body to do something productive rather then just let it chase me around like a fox in a field.

On top of that, I am breaking down the challenges in front of us into what my friend Richard Black calls ‘Ridiculously Small Steps’. Decluttering is one of those steps, finishing small tasks is another and so is getting on top of admin. As Mykle keeps reminding me - one step at a time!

I am very confident that I won’t be the only one dealing with big stuff at the moment, so I wanted to share some encouragement to you that no matter what’s happening at the moment - you’re not alone!

My heart is with you - whether high, low or somewhere in between, can I encourage you today to throw the headphones on, fill your head and heart with some uplifting music, get some fresh air, and above all - take the next step that is right in front of you.

I see you, my friend xx

PS: my house is looking CLEAN!!!

Julia Grace

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