Fear – And Breathe……

Cherish the Positives Whilst Fighting the Demons.

October 17, 2018Paul Harris

When you are struggling with anxiety and depression, it can be really difficult to notice anything positive that happens, most things slip under the radar so quickly that you miss them completely.

It is these positive moments that are really important to try and notice, and when you do, you need to grab hold of them and don’t let them go; they are like precious gems.

The problem is that the negative moments always seem more overwhelming than the positive ones. Last week was a great week for me; I had an article published in the Hitchin Comet (my local newspaper) and I completed the first challenge of my ‘Adventures of an Anxious Mind’. Read more →

Anxiety and the Brain: Part 1 – Neuroscience.

October 9, 2018October 9, 2018Paul Harris

Neuroscience – Any or all of the sciences, such as neurochemistry and experimental psychology, which deal with the structure or function of the nervous system and brain.

As I mentioned in a previous blog ‘Time to Science the S**t Out of this’, I have been reading up on how anxiety is created in the brain, and most importantly how you can rewire your brain.

The best book I have read about this is called ‘Rewire Your Anxious Brain, how to use the neuroscience of fear to end anxiety, panic & worry’ by Catherine M. Pittman, PhD and Elizabeth M. Karle, MLIS (below is an Amazon link if you are interested in the book).

Now, I am not scientifically minded, but I have found this subject fascinating, and this book went a long way to answering a lot of questions that I had about my mental health problems.

Sometimes it Feels the Nightmare Will NEVER End?

September 20, 2018September 20, 2018Paul Harris

“Light and darkness create an opposition, yet depend on each other just as the step taken by the right leg depends on the step taken by the left.” – Sekito

Last week was a real struggle; I thought I was doing OK, and I was on a bit of an upward roll; but then the wheels completely fell off.

When this happens it is like a high speed crash, you hit rock bottom with a spectacular thump, and literally have to scrape yourself up off the floor.

So what happened? What went so terribly wrong? Read more →

Time Pressures and Amended Goals.

September 11, 2018September 11, 2018Paul Harris

One of my biggest anxiety triggers is time pressure. Most people will be able to relate in some way to this because modern life is run at a fast pace, and we don’t seem to be able to take a break.

For me most of the time pressure came at work, I was snowed under and never felt as though I was on top of the workload, I always seemed to be playing catch-up. E-mails were the biggest problem for me because the time taken for people to respond was pretty quick. It is the speed of modern communication that causes a lot of additional stress at work because people can respond almost instantaneously, or jump on the phone as soon as they have seen your e-mail (sometimes without reading it properly…..)

The pressures of time also spread to my home life; working Monday to Friday, it only left the weekend to do homey things, such as cleaning. I had so much I needed to squeeze into a weekend that it was Monday before I even knew where I was. Read more →

Time to Set Some Serious Goals

August 10, 2018Paul Harris

One of my biggest problems has been feeling lost, and having a distinct lack of direction. I have ideas, and know what I would like to do, but it all feels so far away and overwhelming.

I have decided that I need to try and set some goals that I can focus my mind to working towards.

“If my mind can conceive it, and my heart can believe it, then I can achieve it.”

– Muhammad Ali

One trigger for my anxiety is time, and feeling that I never have enough time to do everything, so I am going to try and keep these goals fairly open to start with and see how I go. Read more →