Anxiety Antics

WEEK WILLED

A week ago today, I was out with friends drinking copious amounts of alcohol on my birthday, which was the follow on session from the previous night's drinking and partying that didn't come to an end until late Tuesday night. 

The week that followed was a tough one. I've trodden these same boards before many times over and so I know what kind of challenges will be faced. But even with the knowledge, it's still hard living in these moments following a heavy session of late nights and over indulgence. The sleep quality is often very poor which makes matters even worse as the week goes on. Thoughts of self loathing, regret and anxiety will surface. Why do we do this to ourselves - what were we thinking staying out so late and partying so hard? We tell ourselves that we should know better at 44. Tsk tsk. 

In moments like these, we have to remember the laughter with friends, the dancing and carefree life experiences so recently enjoyed from the weekend. We need to be less hard on ourselves. We always knew this tough bit was coming up but still we struggle to be present in these drawn-out moments of tiredness alone with our naggy self-berating thoughts! Ultimately though, the tough bit will pass and we can be ready to do it all again pretty soon. 

Push Through

The key learning point here is to always push through with the yoga, exercise and hard work. Because, it's at challenging times like these that we grow stronger in mind, body and spirit. Getting the heart rate up, will help the liver and kidneys to flush the body and brain of spent sugars, plus the focus on exercise will distract the mind away from negative thoughts. If we stay occupied with our work, this often tricky period will come to pass a lot quicker. 

So, the mistake was that it took until Friday for me to take my first bit of exercise. I reluctantly booked a yoga class at the last minute. I was literally at my wits end when I dragged myself along. I sat in the class at the beginning feeling feeble, anxious and very self conscious about my inferior performance. I was so lacking compared to just a week before, because I'd allowed myself to get this way. It was a struggle - but mostly just in my mind. I'm so glad to have invested that 1.5hrs when I would sooner have gone home and crawled into bed, because the road to recovery has now started. I just wish I'd taken action sooner. I will not let this happen in the future!

Climbing The Impossible

We are all capable of so much more. The mind fools us into believing we are at our limit when there's so much more in our reach. Watching Meru this weekend, a film about climbing an impossible peak in the Himalayas, I'm shown how the mind plays tricks and where the strength of will can get us to accomplish seemingly impossible feats. If a man can climb a mountain merely months after a serious life-threatening accident, then push through to the top after suffering a stroke half way up the mountain - then I can surely achieve my meagre goals with a couple of small ailments. It's the will to succeed that gets us to try. Having the determination to push through and never giving up when the mind tells us we have reached our limit, is what brings the results.