I had a thread over in Virtual Hugs that I was adding to a lot, but I haven't been on the forums for awhile. I know that during the height of some of my anxious moments I hated it when people just disappeared and didn't update, so I thought I would pop a quick note here to say what's working for me, and what isn't.

So, what's working -

1. I went back to doing yoga, and let my yoga instructor know I was having issues with anxiety. This was a good move for me because now she gives me poses that are good at easing anxiety. Also, yoga reminds us to breathe, and when we're anxious we often forget to breathe, or put ourselves in a posture that inhibits our ability to breathe, making things way worse.

2. I've started exercising. I hate it. But it is helping. With the anxiety came being sedentary, and with being sedentary I started to gain weight. So now I'm carrying around about 30 extra pounds than I need, and it adds to my body feeling not like my own (I have HA, so that in itself is a bit of a trigger). So right now, exercise is hard, and in the moment I loathe every minute of it. But, in between I actually feel better than I have in a long time. Every time I think "Nah, I'm not going to go to fitness class..." I remember how I feel in between classes.

3. Meditating. I don't do this as often as I should, but it is helpful. I sort of use it as my SOS - when the anxiety is high, meditate. I should be doing it daily or at least every other day. For me, meditation is never going to lead to some super quiet transcendent state, rather it helps calm that mind churn that seems to happen when I'm anxious. So the more I do it, the better I feel emotionally.

4. Seeing a counsellor. This has helped quite a lot. She's been taking me through the CCI modules, and talking about stressors that might be setting me off. It's only once a month or so, but it's been very beneficial. We've discussed what physical symptoms are especially a trigger for me, and talked about recognizing those for what they are.

5. Acceptance. I am accepting myself as someone with anxiety. And realizing that I can live with this if I recognize the anxiety for what it is.

What's not working:

1. My diet. I need to do something about this. Summer is a great time to start, so I'm setting a target date to do something of a recalibration (no sugar except from fruit, no dairy, no wheat, no alcohol) for a couple of weeks. I'm hoping this both calms my stomach and brings me back to some moderation in what I eat.

2. Stressors at home. We have some major house repairs looming and my husband is taking on too much, which stresses him out, which stresses me out. So I'm negotiating with him over that. But, in the end I can only control how I react to things, so I'm working on being supportive to him but also taking care of myself.

3. Some of the CCI modules don't work for everyone. There was one exercise in particular - the delaying worry time - that really didn't work for me at all. But my counsellor is good about recognizing that not all things work for all people.

Anyway, there's my update. Hope it helps some of you out.