When it comes to dealing with anxiety, it can feel almost as if there is nowhere you belong and you feel as though anywhere you go is dangerous in one way or another.
In a way, it makes it so that every situation you encounter is a struggle and it only makes you more fearful โ more in life and in society..
For a lot of people, including myself, even just going out for ten or so minutes to the store is difficult because of what you hear about the world through the news, or what you imagine could happen to you, and it makes you fearful.
Some of the things that are thought of can be extremely terrifying because you start to believe that theyโll actually happen.
Take for example myself: Iโll be walking down the sidewalk, and Iโll see a car go by and far too often do I start imagining things like the car stopping and talking to me and somehow convincing me into the car with them.
Then what? Well, then I start to imagine how I would escape if they were kidnappers, who would even care, how would I let someone know, etc. Itโs just an endless vicious cycle of the question โwhat if?โ and to be honest, thatโs what I find to be the scariest thing.
There is always a โwhat if?โ because you never know what could be out there. You never know if youโll be the next victim. Sure, many have this thought, but when dealing with anxiety, itโs an everyday thought that you struggle with and it makes everything difficult.
You convince yourself that you arenโt safe and that youโll never be safe.
Those who donโt understand say itโs just in your head, but it isnโt. If it was all just in your head, you wouldnโt feel afraid, and you wouldnโt have symptoms of being afraid: shaking, upset stomach and feeling like youโre going to be sick.
There is something you can do about it though, and thatโs creating a safe place, or maybe even knowing where your safe place may be.
For me, whenever Iโm at a concert, I feel like I belong and I have close to no anxiety at all because all I can focus on are the performers and the joy of being there. Sadly, I canโt always be at a concert, and I need to find a different safe place.
What I like to do is isolate myself from others; including noise and any other distractions that would get to me. Once I do this, I like to just close my eyes and just stop and take a second or two to let everything catch up to me. I breathe as calmly as possible โ in through my mouth, out through my nose, and just let my body relax.
Now this is a great technique for anyone. Give yourself some time away, calm your breathing, relax your body, and imagine.
Imagine yourself in an environment where everything is okay โ anything you want can be there. Imagine the sounds, the smells and how your body feels there. Imagine what you can see thatโs near you, and what you see when you look into the distance. If it helps, you can also imagine someone there with you that you feel safe around in reality.
You have to be able to create a place in your mind where you can feel yourself feeling relaxed and at peace. You have to be able to let yourself create a safe place thatโs just for you.
For myself, my safe place is loosely based on just focusing on the things that have made me happy in the past, and what would make me happy in the future. In the end, I guess thatโs all that matters, anyways. The future is big. The future is beyond us all. We have to hope for the best.
When you deal with anxiety everyday of your life, you have to have hope for a better future where you can live how you want to without being held back by an illness.
And thatโs what a safe place to me is. A safe place is a place for you to feel okay, to feel safe, to feel like everything is right in the world. Which is what the future is all about.
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