help me be less anxious?
the daily taryn - june 24th, 2021
Hi my little internet family.
As you can probably tell from the subject line, I’m in my head today. Might be a mix of work things and period things and travel things and good ol’ generalized anxiety disorder things. Might be, but who’s to say.
Regardless of what’s driving it, it’s just not fun. Anxiety is never fun. It sits there in your chest and your head and your little floaty soul and says, “hey. something’s up. i won’t tell you what but you should be super vigilant, okay? try to have fun but not too much fun because you need to focus here heheheheh LOOK OUT oh it’s nothing WAIT THERE oh oops lol okay i’ll just wait here and yell if i see somethin you should worry about ;)”
That’s how mine works, anyway. And after years (and I mean…. years. 25 ish years) of “have you thought about trying medication?” levels of anxiety, I’ve started to understand what I need to press through it.
Presence. That’s what does it for me. If I can be extremely present with something — a puzzle or a show or sudoku or a bath — I’m lightyears better. Lighter.
I’m more here, which means I’m less there (in the past or the future, where anxiety lives).
This is where you come in.
So! Here’s how you can help, should you be so nice to do so.
A few newsletters ago, I mentioned a new thing I started kicking podcast episodes off with called “loving. learning. lost.” where the guest and I go back and forth sharing something we’re loving (a movie, book, new hobby, etc.), something we’re learning (in therapy, from the Discovery Channel, etc.), and somewhere we’re lost (aka stuck).
I love hearing the responses and feel like reading through some of those today would really help me feel a bit more here.
If you care to share, please comment on this post with your “loving learning lost.”
I’m waiting and excited. And thankful, in advance.
Talk soon.
Your friend,
Taryn
If you’d like to comment/share thoughts/etc., please do in the comments of this post! I read and respond to everything.
If you’d like to read other things I’ve made recently, head here.
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Loving- reading My Inner Sky: On Embracing Day, Night, and All the Times in Between by Mari Andrew
Learning- to love/accept myself (may or may not be why I'm reading your stuff to begin with - the whole Christian/gay thing really, really resonated)
Lost- see learning answer I guess lol
Thanks for your words, and I hope that today gets a little better for you :)
anxious ppl unite 🤝. i’m sorry you’re feeling anxious, it can be debilitating. but i hope you can get a long 30 second hug, a glass of water, and lay in your yard in the sun for 10 minutes.
i used to love taking photos but mental health and life dampened the enjoyment but i’m trying to spark that again.
i’m learning that intrusive thoughts are more prominent than i thought and even though they won’t ever fully go away, it’s something i can work on.
i’m lost in life. it’s like i have every opportunity and at the same time have none. i know you have to move in a direction to see if it’s the right one but i’m tired of pivoting. i don’t even need the entire map, i just want the grid and have some concrete walkway.