Having an anxiety disorder can take up a lot of your time. It can also cause you to lose out on having fun and doing things other than worrying. A great way to curtail this tendency is to make a plan, or blue print, of how you will spend your free time.
Anxiety disorder (all forms of anxiety disorder included) can cause you to obsess about your problems all the time. Is it not enough that anxiety symptoms drain you of your energy and enthusiasm? Don’t let anxiety dictate to you what you will and will not do.
Hopefully you have subscribed to the Anxiety guru blog so you can inform yourself fully about anxiety symptoms and how they work. Once you learn and internalize this information you will be equipped to cope with anxiety more effectively.
For example, have you ever been in a public place and started to feel like you couldn’t breathe that well and assumed that it was a serious health problem? Were you burping a lot? Had a stomach ache? Heartburn?
Knowing that anxiety can cause this to happen is important because when you have the correct knowledge base to understand your symptoms – it takes away the fear and mystery of anxiety. You are able to realize that you feel like you can’t breathe normally, or have a fast heart rate, etc because of adrenaline and fear, not because you’re dying. It’s because you have a common and explainable symptom(s) directly related to your anxiety disorder. So why does this matter?
Basically when you learn that not every little symptom, sensation and muscle twitch is fatal, it will free you to do more with your time and ultimately your life. Making a plan for your free time can be critical, because without it you might say to yourself, “well on second thought I will do blank next week instead”. And what are you doing in the interim? You are likely at home, worried and anticipating the next time you will have an anxiety episode. You might plant yourself in front of the t.v., surf the web, or brood about a strange new anxiety sensation.
Let me ask you a question. If someone were going to be punched, would flinching help them avoid the repercussions of being punched? No it would not. So why flinch at anxiety all day, everyday, all the time? Make a plan and resolve to stick with it to ensure that your anxiety disorder does not suck the joy out of your life. When making the plan you should consider the 7 pillars of the blue print for fun.
1. Find out what you like to do for fun. Really think about it and come up with a short list of things you could do weekly that you know would bring you something resembling happiness.
2. Focus on one thing at a time. Don’t bog yourself down with too many to do’s – instead concentrate on a few activities that are doable. No need to create a frenzy.
3. Plan a day and time for your free time activity. Setting a schedule will help to make a routine out of it. Routines have the ability of normalizing what it is you’re doing. This way your activity will become woven into your everyday life and not just a once in a blue moon experience.
4. Disconnect. When you are doing your activity you should avoid phones or any device (unless its part of your plan) that will distract you from your fun time. Make it your time.
5. Be realistic. You may not be able to participate in the exact dream activity you have in mind right away. You might have to build up to it. Doing related things until your ready to embark on the ‘live’ event is a good option.
6. Don’t make busy work – the activity should be relaxing. Try to stay away from hard stuff. This is a time for you to enjoy and focus on something that is not complicated.
7. Pause your worry. When you have an anxiety disorder you will worry, that’s pretty much the definition of having anxiety. The idea is to involve yourself in an activity to distract your mind from your constant worry.
It’s helpful to make an effort to reclaim your free time. Modern life is very busy and hectic. It can make you feel dizzy and rushed. Sometimes you have to hit slow-mo and bring things to a crawl. The best way to do this is to immerse yourself in something you like to do for fun on a regular basis.
Don’t have any ideas? Do a Google search for “hobbies”. Take pictures, paint, roller blade, write, walk/run, collect, build models, knit, etc. There are tons of things that you can do, but the only thing you should not do is add worry to worry. Get your freedom back and make a plan to do it.
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