Nathalie Foster
Bio
I once sold a bathtub at a gun show.
Stories (1/0)
5 Ways I 'Calm' Down
Anyone who struggles with anxiety knows how frustrating it is to be told to calm down. "Calm down" is possibly the worst thing a person can say to me if I am fighting off anxious thoughts or feelings. Even mentally or verbally telling myself to calm down instantly worsens a situation. It troubled me when I thought about this recently, because calm is a wonderful concept. It's a word that, when I am not in the middle of a panic attack, fills me with the deepest shades of blue. It's a word that reminds me of fluffy blankets and terrible Jane Austen adaptations. It's a word I aspire to be. Why, then, does the word fill me with guilt and misery and fear when I attempt to use it at a time that would seem most appropriate?
By Nathalie Foster6 years ago in Psyche