Thank you for taking time out to read Bula Vakasaama, a column dedicated to enlightening readers about practical strategies for optimal mental health and mind wellness.
Today’s topic is about understanding the intricacies of anxiety and how journaling can help calm the anxious heart.
What is anxiety?
Anxiety is a feeling of “exaggerated” reality or “imagined” reality. When we over think something and make it seem larger than what it is, we are “exaggerating” reality.
When we over think things and start adding visuals in our mind of things that we fear may happen but are not happening, we are “imagining” a reality which is false at that moment in time.
Anxiety puts the body through stress. Stress triggers the brain to release stress hormones, mainly cortisol (also known as the stress hormone), in the body. As this hormone increases in the body, the physical reaction of the body is to feel overwhelmed.
Feeling overwhelmed results in the following symptoms for most people: Heart palpitations, sweaty palms, dry mouth, fatigue, constant worrying, fear of going outdoors, and avoiding interaction with people.
Is it natural to experience anxiety?
It is natural to yearn for certainty in outcomes in our daily lives. But it’s not always possible to know exactly what tomorrow may look like, or even the next few hours, for that matter.
Uncertainties can evoke anxiety in the calmest of people. The barrage of graphic footage of the negative state of the world right now is enough to send the nervous system into a tizzy and disrupt our mental and emotional balance.
The more you obsess over the uncertainties of tomorrow, the greater the intensity of the symptoms of anxiety you are bound to experience.
Take comfort in knowing that this ever-expanding, infinite cosmos, or the universe as we commonly call it, has time and time again shown us one universal truth — that there is definitely a feeling of suffering when we resist accepting the present moment because we are incessantly obsessing about the future.
This suffering only eases once we acknowledge that the present moment, no matter how painful it might be, needs to be accepted. One needs to surrender to the present moment with acceptance — it is what it is — and then decide upon the course of action based on the information that one has been given in this present moment.
My personal struggle with anxiety
A few days after my brain tumour surgery I went into severe depression and experienced intense symptoms of anxiety and panic every day. I had no family support at the time and my daughter and I were experiencing the worst of times, financially and with my debilitating ill health. Obsessing about the future kept me in a mental whirlpool that sucked me deeper into dark thoughts which made the anxiety worse.
One day, while I was reading a self-help book, I came across a story about what surrendering to the present moment actually meant. The story was about surrendering to the storm. Imagine that you have been given a storm warning. It is estimated to be in your location in a few hours.
One of the first things we do in that case is to prepare for our safety. We make sure that all windows and doors are shut, all outdoor furniture is stored away or appropriately covered. We ensure we remain in a safe and secure space. And then we wait for the moment of the storm. We listen, we try and remain calm while the storm is happening.
Once the storm passes, we then begin the big clean-up. We spend hours, sometimes days restoring everything back to normal.
In the above scenario, there is a precise moment which teaches us surrender. God has blessed us with our mind and body to prepare for the storm and to clean up after the storm. ‘He’ has showed us that the actual moment of the storm belongs only and only to Him alone.
It is God who knows exactly when the rain, winds, thunder, and lightening during that storm will occur and with what force. The moments before the storm and the moments after the storm we use our skills, logic, our mind, and body, to control things but there is absolutely zero control any creation has in the precise moment of the storm’s occurrence.
That moment belongs to God. Accepting this, knowing and acting without resistance to it is what surrendering means. It is to know and accept without resistance that you can prepare for your day, and you can analyse the events that occurred in your day, but you can’t control everything in your day.
Whatever you’re trying hard to control is only going to cause more pain and anguish.
Take a deep breath and as you exhale, rejoice in the knowing that it is in accepting of the present moment and surrendering your “storm” to God that will calm you. This too shall pass.
Journaling prompts to help you calm your anxious heart
Write about what your ideal life looks like. Describe it in detail. Paint a visual picture with words. No one will read it. This is your personal expression, always private and only for your eyes. God knows what is in your heart, what your yearnings are;
- Now write them down and allow yourself to express your wishes of how you view yourself living the life of a servant of God.
- What is the kind of life you would love to live?;
- What does that life look like in terms of your dwelling?;
- Where do you live?;
- How do you spend your time?;
- Who are the people in your life?;
- How is your health in this ideal life — your mental, emotional and physical health?;
- Do you travel? Where do your travels take you and what purpose do you fulfil in those travels?;
- How is your financial situation in this ideal life?;
- How are you being of service to others?;
- What activities do you do to relax?
- What do you do to be creative?; and;
- In your ideal life, how are you connecting with God?.
- PRINCESS R LAKSHMAN is a counsellor, clinical nutritionist, writer, narrative therapist, and certified life-coach. She is passionate about mind wellness and an advocate for kindness and self-care. She lives in Sydney and will soon open mind wellness hubs in Fiji to provide free mental health counselling and workshops exclusively to Fiji residents. The views expressed are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the views of this newspaper. She can be reached at info@princesslakshman.com
