Chasing my anti-anxiety tool kit!

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A psychologist can only be that far from distress as an ophthalmologist from weak vision. Just to say, we all need to guard our fragile, monkey mind trepidations.

For me, personally what works and what I’ve genuinely been practicing is listed here.

• The mornings that I wake up so torpid that even getting back to bed won’t help… I stretch. Stand on my toes with hands entwined and arms stretched up full length. Then I bend forward, bending from my waist till I touch my toes and hold till comfortable. Once I’m through with my yogic stretch, my mind and body has done a 180-degree turnaround, I’m already 50% recovered from my knackered state.
• When I have too many chores piled up for the day and can’t think of where to start, I’m typically overwhelmed and in a tizzy. I recite a 5-minute prayer (earlier it was browse social Media apps). There is a calmness that follows a prayer no matter what. Count on that to clear your head and get you focused for the day.
• I practice self — compassion, every time I feel challenged in a relationship. For any high anxiety individual, first thing would be to begin barraging oneself when stuck in this situation. So, I write out a note with a self-compassionate suggestion, one that I would give my close friend if she were in my place.
• Regular and consistent self-care. Anxiety has to be dealt with methodically; there is no one-time inoculation for it. So yes, achieving my target of optimal exercise, 40 minutes of moderate and varied exercise, 4 times a week. Weekly massages (head/body), monthly grooming regime and I manage to slow poison my negativity.
• Connect with my tribe. When existential anxiety hits me hard and every step in life seems like my ankles have weights wound around them… a day long parley with those to whom I owe allegiance, my unassuming, non- judgmental chipper gang is brought into play. Thank God for kinship mercies!

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With the pandemic not packing its bags just yet, we are going to experience every single layer of anxiety and we are going to go right through it with our own customised anti-anxiety manual.

Get to work people.

“I just give myself permission to suck…I find this hugely liberating.” — John Green