Overcoming Anxiety & Panic Attacks

I thought long and hard about what the best use of my Listserve opportunity would be and for me the most rewarding thing would be to know that I've helped somebody. Even if it's just one person it will make it completely worth it. This time last year I overcame probably the biggest hurdle and something that would have seriously impacted my future. From the age of 15 I suffered with panic attacks & anxiety that made even the smallest of things an obstacle. For those of you that don't know what panic attacks are, they essentially occur due to your brain's inability to process information correctly at that particular point in time. They make you feel sick, dizzy and intensely panicky; like your whole body is working against you. What makes them worse is that they are invisible to anybody but the person having them and often come at the worst of times. It is important to remember that they don't necessarily come in high pressure situations, some people get them while riding the tube.

Personally, they made doing anything out of the ordinary a challenge. I didn't know where to seek help and didn't know how to stop feeling the way I did. At my worst I wasn't even sure if I would ever find a way to get rid of them. Now here's where I hopefully help at least one of you start to get over your panic attacks & anxiety. In the Summer of 2012 I experienced a few life events that would change my outlook on everything and change my life. At the start of the summer I met my favourite band and with that my biggest role model. This experience not only taught me that I could push past my anxiety and achieve things I never thought I could, but also that I shouldn't let my mind stop me from experiencing the most amazing things in life. During that summer I volunteered at the London Olympic Games, pushing myself further than I had ever done. During that experience I finally overcame my anxiety when I realised one thing; life is too short to let my mind stop me from experiencing all the amazing things the world has to offer. If you are sitting reading this and you are somebody who believes that you'll never be able to overcome your anxiety you just need to keep a few things in mind every day. You can ALWAYS take time and relax whenever you're in a situation you believe to be difficult. You are in complete control of yourself and nobody is going to think bad of you for wanting a few minutes of time. Always remember that what you experience can be overcome and it's far simpler than you think, it just takes a change in your perception of things. Remember that worry is a complete waste of energy, it doesn't produce anything. Finally, don't ever let your mind stop you from having a good time. Realise that life is short and you should take every opportunity as it's these experiences that you will always look back on. I'm 21 next Saturday, in my third year of my degree, have seen the most incredible things and have some amazing opportunities ahead of me. I'm proud to say that my life is good. I am happy.

Please feel free to email me or send me a message on twitter @jamiemaison anytime and i'll do my best to help, even if you just want to find out more about my experiences.


Thanks for reading,

Jamie Maison
jamiemaison[AT]sky.com
London, UK

Comments

Post a Comment

Favorites

This is a puzzle.

Beyond this message a challenge awaits; In the listserve, no links are allowed, what a cruel fate! The first clue must be deciphered by ROT 8. . Let me know and just email if your brain needs a spark Your first clue is just after this punctuation mark / dsoqwj vwxwfvafy lge jgtafkgf af lg cadd s egucafytajv Listserve Puzzle listservepuzzle[AT]gmail.com
Read more

21,612 is a lot

Hi, everyone. I'm a teenaged girl. I'm not arrogant enough to think that I know much about the world. I'm 18, a freshman in college, and I struggle every day trying to see into the future: into what might be, where I might go. Recently I've decided that my destiny in life is to be a high-school biology teacher, but ask me again later and perhaps that will have changed. One thing I feel passionate about is body modification. Somehow my standards of beauty have developed in a way that put piercings, tattoos, implants and scarification at the forefront. However, my parents have threatened to cut off their funding for my education if I modify myself in any way. I already have piercings, and though my family will never see them due to their private locations, I would love to be able to share this important part of my life with them and express myself through modification in a more public way. Essentially, they have rejected my lifestyle, and through this, they have ...
Read more

Tiny wings

Hi all, I want to write about a subject that is very close to my heart - bees! I started bee keeping last year, and have two colonies right now. These two already managed to supply my family and my friends with more than enough honey, and keeping the bees is a tremendously satisfying activity. They smell so good, and are very tidy animals, and are just very, very interesting overall. The insects' way of dealing with the world is just so very different from how we as mammals approach it - it seems almost alien. Anyways, what is probably most impressive is the workload these little animals deal with. For one kilo of honey, they visit 4 million flowers, and fly a distance equivalent of more than 4 times around the earth. Think about that for a second. And then, if you start to think about how they "furniture" their housing themselves by the wax they sweat out, how they can control temperature inside the hive to the tenth of a degree, how they collectively make decisions i...
Read more