*Trigger Warning* Anxiety
In the last year I have really suffered with anxiety. As a middle and high school student I had the regular amounts of stress associated with being a teenager. However, once I entered college I started experiencing must more intense anxiety. I was struggling with being away from home, balancing my class work and free time, as well as relationships both platonic and romantic. Often times I would feel myself overwhelmed by what was happening around me. I was unable to relax and calm down resulting in more feelings of panic. These feelings of panic lots of times would result in shutting down, crying, not being able to sit still, or feelings of being out of control. In high school when I did have these instances of panic I had some unhealthy coping mechanisms. In college, I realized with the more frequent panic attacks that I needed to establish healthy coping mechanisms.
The coping mechanisms I began using were much healthier and much more helpful. The first mechanism I started using was anxiety medication. I talked with my doctor about my anxiety and the feelings of panic. She recommended that I increase my antidepressant as well as adding an additional anxiety medication that I can take when I experience the symptoms of a panic attack. A second coping mechanism that I also started using when I was anxious was coloring. Whenever I am stressed and anxious I color in a page out of a coloring book that I have. I recommend getting one that you find amusing and fun to color in. I have one that is a bunch of geometric shapes with curse words mixed in. A third coping mechanism I picked up that has helped me is that distracting myself with something funny. I like to watch TV shows that make me laugh and feel happy when I am stressed and anxious. Recently, I have been watching The Office to help relax and de-stress. Watching Michael Scott be a complete idiot really helps me get over the things that are bothering me.
Anxiety is something that is in my life but it is something that will not control my life. It is something that is a temporary problem that will pass and I will be able to beat it in the long run.
Anyone with anxiety is able to overcome it and be a better person from it.