Experts seem to have mixed views on whether fidget toys and tools really work, but plenty of people are using them to increase their levels of focus, reduce restlessness and manage anxiety…
How to distract yourself from worried thoughts
‘Distraction’ is really referring to the practice of mindfully refocusing your attention. This is where we break the chain of worried thinking and rumination by doing something else, preferably physical. I’m sure you’ve been there. A worried thought has popped into your mind and before you know it that thought has snowballed into a hundred other negative thoughts.
Perimenopausal mental health: My Journey
I am so delighted to be able share another guest post blog as our first post of the New Year! Lesley Salem launched Over The Bloody Moon to provide help and support to women who, like Lesley, are struggling with perimenopausal symptoms like anxiety and depression. Read on to find out more about her journey and how she might be able to help you too. You can follow Lesley on Instagram at @overthebloodymoon!
How to manage 'what if' worries
I’ve recently been trying a new daily practice to help me manage my worries called a thought download. The basic idea of this is spending fifteen minutes, every day if possible, literally downloading all of my thoughts onto a piece of paper until my mind is empty. It’s early days, but I do find this process empties my mind of all the clutter, and then depending on how much time I have I will pick one or two of the thoughts and work them through in WorryTree.
One thing I’ve noticed since I began practicing this technique is that a large number of my downloaded thoughts tend to begin with ‘what if’.
Here's how I've learnt to cope with uncertainty this year
It's been quite a year hasn't it so far? I'm writing this today hours before we hear what the latest set of restrictions are going to be in the UK. Thankfully the schools are back and businesses are open, but the virus is spreading again here and it feels like it's going to be a challenging winter.
These are uncertain times and for many of us, especially those of us with a tendency to worry, uncertainty brings fear and anxiety. I for one am not a fan of uncertainty, and yet everything about our lives is uncertain.
How scheduling worry time can help with anxiety
Have you come across ‘worry time’ before? It’s a technique that many people use to help them manage their worries and anxiety.
The principle is this - rather than worrying and feeling anxious throughout the day, you make a note somewhere of your worries and then you schedule a specific time each day when you work through your worried thoughts.
Five things helping me right now
I’ve been wondering for a while whether I should write a post about Covid-19 and worry. These are certainly anxiety provoking times.
I think partly I’ve been avoiding writing here about it because I feel anxious myself, so how can I address that for other people in this blog, when I haven’t fully worked it through yet myself.
I also feel as if everyone is talking about it and there’s a huge breadth of content out there already. I lost count of the number of emails I had in the first week or so of lockdown in the UK, from all of my very favourite mailing lists, addressing coronavirus from their perspective. All of them were helpful. All of them were thought provoking.