Stress and Anxiety

Hello everybody!

I'm going to do a quick post today about stress and anxiety. 

I guess I'm a naturally stressful person; I literally stress about everything. The top two things that are giving me major stress are school and volleyball. It's not that other people are giving me pressure, it's all internal. I over think too much and I end up getting anxiety attacks. 

I wouldn't say I have an anxiety problem but I do get anxiety attacks more often than I should. Yes, it's normal to stress about a test or a big game, but not to the point where you feel sick, you want to cry, or even worse, just die. 

I've watched YouTube videos about anxiety, like Zoella's Anxiety Q&A (x) and they make me feel so much better knowing that I'm not the only one going through this. I'm not crazy and I'm not alone. 

During my anxiety attacks, I feel sick, my hands shake like crazy, I have trouble breathing, I can't think, and I feel completely out of it. 

This happens a lot when I'm studying for tests. I end up not being able to study for an hour or two because my brain will not function. Sometimes I start crying. I hate it when it happens because then I get even more anxious that I don't have enough time left to study. 

I never thought I would have anxiety problems while playing volleyball. I absolutely love playing volleyball; I love the rush of adrenaline I get from it and the sense of accomplishment. But during games, I get into my own head and start beating myself up. This makes me dread playing volleyball. There was this one game where I almost started crying. I was so glad when my coach took me out, or else I would have started crying. 

I never used to have this kind of anxiety. It started last year when I had a really bad anxiety attack that my mom wouldn't let me go to school the next day. After that, I feel like they've been happening more frequently. 

I am most definitely no expert on anxiety and I haven't had as much experience with it as other people, but I want to share what I do to calm myself down. 

First, I stop whatever's making me stressed. Then, I try to control my breathing. It doesn't help if my carbon dioxide levels are out of whack. There's this whole scientific thing behind it, but basically, when you hyperventilate, you're breathing too fast and releasing too much carbon dioxide, which is bad. So you need to control your breathing, or breathe into a paper bag to reinhale carbon dioxide. 

Once my breathing is under (some what) control, I try to relax and calm down. Crying and releasing my emotions always makes me feel better. My head feels so much clearer after a good cry.

I put so much pressure on myself that sometimes I forget what's important. Getting straight A's is nice, but that's not all that matters in life. A few B's won't kill you. It's important to make sure your body and your mind is healthy because you only get one of each in your life. You're stuck with them until you die, so make sure it's healthy. 

Then, I take a break and do something that makes me feel happy or relaxed. I watch YouTube videos, listen to music, go on tumblr, watch TV, or read blogs. 

After I've taken a break, I refocus on my task. This time, I do everything slowly and calmly. I keep reassuring myself that everything is okay and it's not the end of the world if I fail. 

Some things I've noticed that sort of trigger my anxiety, apart from stress, are lack of sleep and caffeine. Not sleep and drinking coffee by themselves don't make me anxious, but combine them with stress and it's a recipe for disaster. This doesn't help because I have to drink coffee to get through my late night study sessions. I know I should have better study habits and study beforehand, but is such a hard habit the change. 

It helps to have good habits. Eating well, exercising, and sleeping definitely help. 

This is such a personal topic to talk about because everything happens inside my head and I've never really talked to anyone about it. 

Feel free to comment down below about anything, like your anxiety or any tips you have. 

Thanks so much for reading. I'll see you soon!

~Claudia

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