You'll be reading this thread from your home by now and probably from your sofa.
I don't know whether you have a heatwave there, but we certainly do in the UK. Not my favourite weather conditions and hikes up the anxiety.
It's also the excuse for doing absolutely nothing which in hindsight doesn't help anxiety either.
Just moving from the sofa to the kitchen and back is likely to bring out a sweat and as for cooking, salads, barbecues and takeaways will rank high over this weekend.
But at least I have an air-conditioned car now. what a difference. Luxury! How on earth did I put up with it for so long. I remember a 5 hour car journey on the motorway in 30c heat 3 years ago and not even moving for best part of it. It makes you think how you get through things like that. And thankfully we normally do.
We need to trust our bodies capabilities more and especially our 'Will'. The 'Will' to do something can outweigh any medical diagnosis. My mum was proof of that when diagnosed with terminal cancer at the age of 36, then lived to be 84!
I remember my dad telling me a story about a time when he was diagnosed with pneumonia and my dad turned to the doctor and said, "I haven't got time for that, I've got a sick wife, young kid and a mortgage to pay" and off he went carrying out his duties. The following week there was no sign of any pneumonia at all and the doc was amazed with no rest and just carrying on, he became better naturally and very quickly.
My point is....
Sometimes, maybe it is better to just get on with things. Yes, it is important to eat well and sleep when tired, but I believe if we molly coddle ourselves too much, we wallow in our own rot. If you let the brain believe it is well, it sends messages to our body to confirm that. And that's not a trick.
That brings me to affirmations and visualisations.
If you can imagine yourself doing something with flying colours, you are more likely to succeed. If you keep telling yourself, "I'm ill, I can't do anything", the brain and body reacts to those thoughts.
Yes, I know it's difficult with anxiety symptoms because it creeps up on you in the form of a whoosh in the brain or a shooting pain in your arm, a pounding heartbeat or adrenalin running through your body, but we know it's anxiety. We've had hundreds of these feelings before, probably more likely thousands and all we have to do is acknowledge, "that's my anxiety reminding me I'm on high alert, the alert that keeps us safe but has gone in to overdrive, stupid anxiety, there's no fear here, I'll shut it down and carry on with what I am doing". Yes, tell it, it's not needed and it will eventually pass. Yes, it's uncomfortable, can be scary, a little embarrassing. But take a look around you as every 4th person will be feeling the exact same feelings as yourself.
It's not our fault, we've done nothing wrong. Society has made us this way, so we have to deal with it the best we can.
So, on that note, I've found myself a bit of shade in the garden to make the most of a hot situation and get Mr C to take me out for dinner tonight.