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| Appropriately spiny and abrasive succulents. |
Bonjour, buttons.
This is a kind of weighty topic, but it is a real one, and one that deserves some discussion. Anxiety stems from many places, and can be triggered by innumerable things. Sometimes it's situational: taking an exam, speaking in public, riding public transit, etc. Sometimes it's ongoing and underlying everything you do, seemingly without origin. I've struggled my entire life with both varieties of anxiety, and it's taken me a long time to try to figure out how to center myself and go on without hindrance. I'm going to detail for you some things that have helped me, depending on the situation.
Perfecting Your Nest
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| My own nest, featuring current reads and my childhood bear, Knob. |
Your sleeping space is a sacred space. It is one of the few spaces in the home that is dedicated solely to rejuvenation and healing. If you aren't spiritually connected and/or emotionally attached to your bed, you might have some things you need to alter. Here are some little ways that maximize the loveliness of your nest, and will help you to sleep deeper and relax to the extent you deserve.
Wash your sheets and comforter as often as possible. // This sounds like an obvious hygiene statement, but if your lifestyle is busy, if you are a student, or if you're going through a rough and anxious patch, you tend to forget about things like your sheets. They're worth the attention, though, and keeping them clean not only gives you a little peace of mind (consider all the oil, hair, and skin cells that rub off into your bed sheets at night...just a thought), but encourages a lot of generally clean habits. When you wash them, treat yourself to extra softener, you've earned it. I also love to dump in an absolute ton of Downy Unstoppables Fabric Scent Booster. The one in the blue bottle called Fresh has that lovely traditional laundry soap smell, which is pretty universally great, but my favorite is the pink Shimmer, because it smells vaguely of Froot Loops and sugar. Strangely wonderful.
Pile on the blankets. // It isn't a nest without as many blankets as possible. If you feel like disappearing into the folds of your childhood blankie, do it. If you want to construct an intricate canopy from leftover sheets, do it. The closeness and warmth of things like throw blankets are something everyone deserves. Find the softest, cushiest one in any given home goods store and start your collection now, if you find yourself lacking. The same goes for stuffed animals. Find childhood again in fleece and goose-down.
Keep your work out of your bedroom, if possible. // Believe me, I know how hard it can be to not do your work in your bed. I've succumbed more times than I'll admit. I've found, however, that separating your work space from your sleep space helps me to sleep more soundly, and fall asleep quicker. This is because of the activity association with the space: if you reserve your bedroom for only relaxation (and recreation, amiright?), then whenever you enter that space, it will reinvigorate those cognitive associations. It's been noted that melatonin levels spike to higher levels when people enter their bedroom in which they do not work or study. That sets your circadian rhythm going the moment you walk in, and you'll find yourself relaxed and asleep in no time.
Essential Oil Blends
I owe this to my mom, who excitedly called me up from school to tell me all about these oil blends she'd discovered. Previously, I hadn't had much exposure to essential oils other than to occasionally sniff at them in Whole Foods. Since acquiring this Eden's Garden 14-Piece Synergy Blend set, I've had a grand old time experimenting with them. Most importantly though are how well these have impacted the comfort I feel in my living space. I've never been one to doubt the olfactory senses, (cutaway to the scratch-n-sniff episode of Pushing Daisies: you know the one), but expanding beyond perfume has been life changing. Here are two of my favorite things you can do to incorporate essential oils into your times of need.
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| My favorite fabric scent blend. 7/7/7 drops each for a large bottle. |
- Add a few drops to unscented epsom salts for a bath. When combined with the delightful tension-easing properties of epsom salts, scent oils turn bath time into an other-worldly experience. The heat of the water and steam stimulates the capillaries in your nasal passages, as well as exciting the scent molecules in the air, which permits you to fully experience the scent you decide to add to your bath. This total immersion is perplexing and soothing. Bubbles help, too, if you're so inclined.
- Add 10 drops to a spray bottle full of water and use as a fabric scent for your bedsheets. This is my personal favorite use for essential oils. I combine the three oils you can see there to the right and spray my pillows and sheets before I go to sleep. Inhaling the scents of the oils as you drift to sleep is lovely, and also makes you feel expensive and pampered, which never hurt anyone. Scent notes such as chamomile, lavender, clary sage, and sandalwood are perfect choices for sleep and relaxation.
Read, Read, Read
You guys know by now about the voracious bookworm life that I lead. However, when I find myself stressed to whatever degree (mild annoyance--frequent panic attacks), I have enormous trouble focusing. During my spring quarter of my freshman year of college, I was so wracked with stress and misery that I lost sight of my love of reading for months on end. I couldn't manage to read anything for longer than ten minutes at a time without feeling like I was strangling to death. The origins of this are still unclear to me, but lack of focus is rampant with anxiety disorders and general stress. My advice to you? Read anyway. You need to condition your brain to take in large volumes of text again, whether you've been reading for years recreationally or if you are taking courses with heavy reading loads. The only way you can do this is to throw yourself back on the wagon. I know how it feels to watch words and letters blur right in front of you; to elapse twenty pages of text and remember nothing at the end of it; to feel itchy with frustration and anger because you no longer have the same stamina or patience for reading anymore. Even if it doesn't pertain to your classes, losing yourself in a book can be life-saving. Remember why you do love it, why you would love it, or why you used to, if you feel really dissociated. Remember the texture of old paper and the crisp vinegar smell of new paper. Remember the millions of worlds crafted just for your eyes and your imagination. Set aside some time for yourself to get lost again. It separates you from your worries or your panic, while still yet giving you perspective on conflict resolution and interactions you might not have considered before. I will always recommend throwing a little fantasy literature in there, purely because it courses through my veins, but that's just me.
Bonus Round!
Seven-Eleven Breathing
This is a breathing technique I've become very fond of for centering myself if I feel an anxiety attack looming over me. Breathing techniques have been lost to the western world, it seems, and unless you go out of your way to learn them (or practice things like Yoga or various martial arts), you will likely never know. This technique increases oxygenation of the blood significantly more than breathing at a normal rate, and thus can alleviate the stresses caused by panic and hyperventilation. The technique goes like this:
- Breathe in deeply for seven seconds
- Exhale for eleven seconds, emptying the lungs completely
It doesn't sound like much, but after even five minutes of concentration on this technique, you will find yourself greatly calmed. Focusing on the counting itself is the most important part, due to the fact that it distracts from the issue at hand and provides a vacancy of the mind that is much needed in times of stress. You can read more about this technique here.
Yoga and Stretching
If you are able, yoga is a wonderful and exhilarating stress reliever. I will go into detail more about my favorites below, but if you are not able to do yoga for matters of health, even the most basic of stretches can help. Remember always that your body is your longest companion, and you should never stretch your limits to the point where you feel pain.
My favorite type of yoga to practice is Vinyasa, which refers to the way in which poses flow together with very little stops, and in time with the breath. It's a little more rigorous in practice, but it leaves you feeling loose and at peace. I thought it was a gimmick before I actually started to do it, but I promise that you will feel renewed, or at the very least looser. If you cannot attend classes at a studio or gym, there are a wide variety of YouTubers who make videos you can follow along to in your own home. This is lovely because you can do as many or as few as you are able, without the pressure that sometimes accompanies attending a group fitness class.
Some of my favorite channels for yoga are:
- Do You Yoga? With Erin Motz // She is a delight, and her classes are light hearted and peaceful. Even she finds beauty in messing up, or falling out of a pose, or the way you can tremble and fall over every now and again. She has a series called the Thirty Day Yoga Challenge, which is a great place to start integrating yoga into your every day routine.
- Yoga with Adriene // Yet another sweetheart, she has an enormous variety of flows and practices to follow along to. She also has a lot of dedicated videos to things like back problems, muscle tension, menstrual cramps (trust me, vagina-havers, it's a great one), and lack of sleep.
Tell me your stories. Tell me what helps you. We are in this together, and any degree of anxiety is worth attention and recuperation. You matter, and your sensations and feelings matter. At the very least, they matter to me as your compatriot. Good luck, everyone.
love, lex
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