Eco anxiety in Perth

[Bookgirl]

Hi, we are in the middle of a horrible heatwave here and its causing me a lot of anxiety thinking about the future and generally just stressing out about it all.  Just seems so insurmountable and i feel overwhelmed.  My 15 year old son gets angry at me for being pessimistic but its hard to be optimistic when its over 40 degrees for a long time.  I just feel like i am sinking right now.

[Eagle Ray]

Dear Bookgirl,

I’m glad your boss was lovely and you got positive feedback from her. I hope you have a helpful visit with the doctor tomorrow. I’m glad you were able to communicate with your husband too and share how things are going. It can reduce the burden of the struggle a bit when we can share with people in our lives.

I’ve been reading about the inner child today as I’m still working on caring for and supporting that part of myself. I read some ideas including doing some drawing to express the feelings of my inner child. I’m planning to go to the newsagent tomorrow now and get some coloured pencils and paper to draw on. I just thought of you and wondered if expressing the world of your inner child in some way may help. I feel like for me if I externalise parts of my inner world on paper I can see those parts more clearly and care for them. I just wondered if it is something that can sooth intrusive thoughts too and break up the pattern of them spiralling a bit?

Take care and bye for now,

ER

[Bookgirl]

Hi my husband came with me to the dr and i am changing my medication to see if that helps. Also yesterday on the OCD site i was reminded of how to deal with intrusive thoughts. I have been told about these strategies before but when you get in the thick of things sometimes you forget to use them as you fall back into old patterns.  I do have a colouring book so will dig that out and see if it helps.  Thank you again for being there for me this week.  You have been a great support when i feel like i am absolutely falling apart.  

[Eagle Ray]

Dear Bookgirl,

I’m glad you had the support from your husband when seeing the GP and hopefully the new medication helps. It’s good there are those strategies for the intrusive thoughts too. It can definitely help to talk to other people and let them know how you’re going and see what ideas and thoughts they have that can help. I totally understand about going into the old patterns. I hope you can have a restful weekend and feel some improvement. Take good care,

ER

[Bookgirl]

I couldn't control my compulsion and looked at the news and feel like crap. Hubby dragged me out to walk because the dr said my 1000 steps average for the week was not helping at all (it's not).  Coping ok but feeling anxious. Just trying to get through without falling in a heap.

[Eagle Ray]

Hi Bookgirl,

Did you feel better after your walk? I often find it can shift me out of a stuck state if I’m in one. It mobilises things in the body. I even wonder do you like dancing? I have in fact put favourite music on before and danced out some troubling emotions. I think if you can feel some efficacy that you can change things, it starts to feel less paralysing and you realise you can make a difference for yourself.

I think increasing your daily steps if you are able could definitely help. I’ve heard the figure of 10,000 steps a day being recommended as ideally what humans are meant to do. You don’t necessarily have to reach that, but I would say lifting it above what it is now may help. There’s actually a thread in the Staying Well section here on the forum where people post about the walk they had that day, what they saw, heard, felt etc. Feel welcome to post there if you would like. It’s called Walking Shoes - Walking and Other Exercise. I posted there two days ago. No pressure to, only if you want to and it gives you motivation.

Take care and know that the mind can sometimes feel overwhelmed but there are strategies that can help. For me working through the body often helps by physically doing something if I can. I’ve had some major health limitations at times, but I can also use my imagination sometimes and even imagine going places if I’m not physically able to. Some days I sit in my back garden and photograph the birds even if I’m not well enough for an outing. It always lifts me and I’ve got some nice images out there. And it’s just so nice seeing the birds.

I’m actually going to go for a walk now. I think you’ve inspired me by mentioning walking.

All the best,

ER

[Bookgirl]

After i read the news today i felt very depressed. I get really upset by the fact that man can't seem to see that war is pointless. We didn't learn anything from any of the great wars at all. Old men run this world and don't care about the young people. I read something that said the world isn't ending, the world will go on but people may end and i think that would be a good thing for the planet in a lot of ways.

[Eagle Ray]

Dear Bookgirl,

It’s true that humans can do some bad things, war being one of the most awful. And often that’s happened because a tyrant is in power. Wars have gone back a long, long way in human history.

But it’s so important to remember that every single day humans do amazingly kind and good things, showing courage, generosity, spirit and care for their fellow humans and other living beings too. The thing about the news is there is a negative bias, so if you watch it you are inevitably going to see the worst events.

Just now I returned from a walk. I walked down to the river where I met the same friendly white-faced heron I met yesterday. I said hello and feel I’m getting to know this heron who is not too flighty at all. Further along a woman was at one of the fish cleaning stands in the water surrounded by pelicans and gulls, along with stingrays and eagle rays nudging her for scraps. The rays typically rub up against the human as if say “Please give me some fish”. The lady said to one persistent little eagle ray, “Don’t be so pushy” but then hand fed him or her a bit of fish.

People were riding their bikes along the path. There were two guys who looked to be in their 70s on electric scooters. They are all the rage now and seem to be appealing to all age groups. Plenty of people were walking too. I got to say hello to some friendly people.

So there is a world out there with good things in it and all sorts of engaging things to see and experience every day. I know it can be so hard when you are stuck in a loop, but there may be ways you can break up that loop by giving yourself different experiences and finding different things to focus on. It may not be the same as what I do, but perhaps see if you can think of something you’d really like to be doing and get immersed in.

Speaking of immersion I just looked out and can see beautiful pink clouds with the sun setting. I noticed the moon has risen and I think it will be a full moon in a few days too. Sometimes coming back to these beautiful things in nature can be really grounding and stabilising. Can you recall a time you have felt peaceful and connected? Sometimes even coming back to such a memory in imagination can help.

Take care,

ER

[Bookgirl]

I had a horrible dream about nuclear war last night so woke up panicky. I always worry about the future and every day in the news it gets worse. I agree i need to stop and see the good things but sometimes all i see is babies and little kids who may not have a future. My sister in law has lung cancer and has been very ill and i think of her and how she fights every day to have more time with her family and yet i wake every day afraid and wishing it was over.  The irony is not lost on me. Inevitably if a nuclear war happens i have no control over that. I try to think of all the people who are working against it.  Again i will try as you suggest. I thought this morning if it was the last day of my life i would not like to spend it worrying. I would enjoy every minute but then i don't put that into practice.

[Eagle Ray]

Hi Bookgirl,

Would you say the nightmares are something that is worsening at the moment? I think you said the anxiety has been worse in recent times. I know I’ve already mentioned it, but hormonal factors in recent months have played a huge role in my anxiety levels and also led to recurrent nightmares. Now I am on the right balance of hormone meds the nightmares have gone, I am sleeping soundly through the night and my anxiety is down by about 80%. I have no idea if hormonal factors are relevant for you, and see how you go with the new med at the moment. But I just thought I’d mention how much certain symptoms have improved for me once the underlying hormonal issue was addressed. I’m seeing a hormone specialist GP now which has been very beneficial. Before I got the right treatment my symptoms felt really out of control but now I’m feeling so much better. I listened to a podcast by hormone specialist Dr Louise Newson with a woman with OCD whose symptoms got dramatically worse when she reached perimenopause, but it took a long time to find out hormones were the key factor. I cannot know if that’s the case for you and I’m not giving advice as such which I cannot do. I just thought I’d mention it as a possibility to explore as nightmares were a relentless symptom for me for months along with intrusive thoughts I felt I had no control over. I now feel way more balanced and the intrusive thoughts are gone. I have had to do some tweaking of meds but really finding the right balance now.

Take good care,

ER

[Bookgirl]

One of my triggers is war and with waht is happening in the middle east its really setting me off.  That is what is causing the nightmares. A guy in my office last week started talking about ww3 and i have been spiralling ever since. I know i have no control over anything and what will be will be but i am scared for my son as I just want to protect him from the horrors of this world and it just seems to get worse and worse.  Been anxious all day. Can't look at social media waiting for something bad to happen. Sometimes i just hate this world and being in it is so hard,