Elizabeth Bandeen

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Oh Crikey ( me realising what my low level simmering anxiety looks like from the outside)

So anyway.

I’ll try and keep this brief. Ish.

Only a very very good friend could point out things, that you’re not aware of, and then it goes BOOM!

Low level anxiety. I know I can get twitchy about things, and lack of confidence can make my voice go really high when I talk. It’s a mixture of menopause, menopause, hormones, my confidence, and the odd panic attack thrown in.

I feel a bit twitchy and unsure of myself in certain situations, and to be honest, the last time I felt like this, I was 42 and it was perimenopause and I had NO idea what was happening to me at that time.

I’m at an advantage of knowing what the signs mean.

There’s a chain that needs to be broken between stress, cortisol, and the feelings of panic that can come over me for what appears like no reason.

It doesn’t look good from the outside.

I make no apology for worrying about things that other people haven’t even thought of worrying about. I think that what happened from March 2020 onwards directly affected me (and many other people too), in so much as, I still get nervous about being in large crowds of people, and I have developed a deep seated hate of driving at night. Can anyone else relate?

I also think that I have become even more risk averse. I’ve never been a fan of uncertainty and the unknown, but every now and again I DO take the chance and say yes to the invite.

So why am I writing this? I suppose it’s incase you recognise any of these situations in yourself.

January this year was waaaaaaaay harsh on many many people, February was a bit of pick me up, and the days are getting longer which is wonderful.

It’s a perfect time to do a SWOT analysis of life (strengths, weakness, opportunities, and threats).

A big threat for me, is my anxiety taking hold of me.

i’m so grateful for my good friend pointing out what was happening. The situation was… I am apparently a really crap passenger.

It was a seemingly minor situation that led to a gentle pointing out, that since the lockdowns, I have been more anxious than ever, and they were worried about me.

Time to take a big lungful and be a bit kinder to myself.

Onward!