A year on: Anxiety & panic attacks

Hello everyone,

I really enjoy doing blog posts especially ones around lifestyle, as I personally find them the nicest to write and they are my favourite ones to read personally. I wanted to give you another insight into panic attacks and anxiety; a year on. You can see my first post about panic attacks here. I hope this gives you some more information on how I deal with this a year on, some things I have picked up along the way etc...

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I think the main thing we would all like to know a year later is if the anxiety and panic attacks are getting worse, well to be honest I couldn't give you a straight answer because it's hard to tell as one time can be worse then the next. I would like to think they are getting better over time, but as I am growing up I am facing more problems and more to worry about. So my answer would be yes they are getting more frequent, some worse then others and I am finding different ways to deal with it. 

A year later I am starting to realise what triggers my anxiety the most, as well as knowing the 'warning signs' of when I can feel one developing, think of this as a cause of the anxiety. I have realised that I get a lot of shortness of breath, I had this before I found out about my anxiety but it's definitely the biggest sign of my anxiety and panic attacks. I have also started to feel really faint with a lot of headaches which also seems to be another big sign, but lately I have been experiencing my legs feeling like jelly which is a new one to me. Then I sometimes get the feeling of nausea and having a rushed heart beat, to the point where you can feel your heart beating inside your chest.

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I've been experiencing anxiety and panic attacks a lot more in the evenings now, and especially at home. I think this is because it's where I am doing more stressful activities such as assignments, but then this is where my mind is more active and thinking about the day or the week. I have to say that this week especially and last week, I have been noticing myself feeling a lot more stressed and anxious as I have not been sleeping and eating properly to being with, but things have happened what make me just feel unhappy and down. I keep saying it's like a domino effect, where everything has a knock on effect on each other to the point where at the end of the day/week I just breakdown in tears.

Dealing with this anxiety and panic attacks has deinfelty been harder over these few weeks, as it's been for a long period of time. I would say that music has definitely been helming, I have cerated a chill playlist which has a lot of slower, calming and relaxing music on it. I have also been relaxing a lot in the bath and just taking time to literally chill and unwind. I have also found a new app which I have been using for a few days now called 'Pacifica' (link), and this has really been helping. I think I am going to try going for walks more often, especially as the weather gets warmer I can just go for a walk to get my mind off some things.

I have also noticed that their are a lot of factors that are making me feel down most of the times, and they are things that I need to make better so I can stop feeling so anxious. I would say the two big factors have been college and friends/boys, I can do some advice blog posts on these topics if you would like.

To help with my anxiety and panic attacks I am going to try more relaxation techniques, which could also help me get a better nights sleep. But I want to get back into exercising some more as well as documenting how I am feeling, and just creating a positive place filled with quotes and inspiration words that can help me when I am feeling down. Lastly I want to try opening up to more people, as I have always been one to keep my problems to myself.

Just remember your not alone, and feel free to message me on any of my social media (links below) if you want to talk to me about any issues or concerns you have. If you need some good information sites try these ones:

- Childline (link)

- Young minds (link)

- Mind (link)

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