Hey guys,
Here’s the time right now:
I kind of just wanted to make a start on this before it escapes my mind.
If you’ve ever experienced random bouts of anxiety-like the one I’m having now….
Then this is the blog post for you.
I wanted to get this ‘off my chest’ before I moved onto the next task I’ve got on my list this morning.
There’ll be time’s (like now) – where suddenly anxiety will strike and I’ll become relatively stressed out about my life in general.
From here, it’s so easy for this to bleed into anger for me and it’s something I want to try and get on top of.
Call this blog then – or at least whatever I write right now – an exercise in getting my feelings onto ‘paper’.
I actually spoke to a coach yesterday – Arnaud – about us potentially working together – to deal with this challenge that I face.
That even when things are going well – I wish I enjoyed the journey more and got less anxious – but c’est la vie.
It might well be part and parcel of existence.
Anyway – let me have a quick Google, see what the advice is – and see what I think of it.
Right upon having a look there are some of the obvious suspects when it comes to looking at triggers of anxiety.
‘Stress’ is a bit of a misnomer – because it’s so relative to what you’re used to and what reference points other people use.
One of the things I think would be helpful to me though is booking in a marathon at the end of this year – not having a direction with my running makes me anxious.
The other elements are obvious – sleep.
Am I getting enough of it? Probably not according to statistics – but I’m committed to waking up at 430am every day and I don’t intend on changing that anytime soon.
One thing that does seem notable, however – is that I have two cups of coffee in the mornings – and that can induce anxiety quite quickly.
I’m going to have a go as effective as tomorrow at having a caffeine ban. No coffee no, tea unless it’s decaffeinated.
Let me try that for a week and see what happens to me.
I’m sure that should help.
Right, I feel like I want to wrap this up and return to it tomorrow.
Catch you then!
Wow – I’ve come back to this almost a month later – and it’s ironic because the time now is 1105am and I’m feeling a little anxious and angry all over again.
This time because it’s Monday and I woke up at 10 am and only now an hour later am I getting down to work.
Naturally, I feel like I’ve lost lots of the day.
However – I want to offer a few suggestions that can help us move forward in a more productive way when you feel this way:
Table of Contents
Mini-meditation
This is literally (in my case) taking three deep breaths before I task switch to re-centre myself. It’s very easy (like now) to get worked up because I feel like I’ve fallen behind and therefore I’m getting nothing done.
However, taking these three deep breaths (even one is good if you’re unused to doing these kinds of things) is a sure-fire way to help calm your anxiety a little bit and help reduce your anger.
I’d massively recommend trying this as it’s something that Valentina and I have discussed as being a focus of mine for this week.
How to cope with feeling angry
Exercise has continually been a good output for me when it comes to letting off steam.
This is why exercise is typically something I reserve for either at the end of my day or in the middle of my day.
The morning doesn’t work for me, as it’s towards the end that my stress levels tend to rise up and that I need to literally ‘blow off some steam’.
Furthermore, it also boosts your dopamine levels (cardio work specifically) – so it helps with both anger, as well as, anxiety.
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Why Are Anxiety and Anger often found in pairs?
I probably should mention at this juncture that these two come together because the body produces very similar physiological responses to this feeling.
You get heart palpitations, you move almost into the fight or flight response with blood pumping through your body – and your logical mind shuts down somewhat and your reptilian brain steps in.
None of this is particularly healthy for us – but it’s remnants of the world we used to live in and our evolution as mammals – like a threat response to danger.
Of course, we know that there’s no real danger – but our body doesn’t discern that and so this flood of chemicals such as adrenaline rushes through us.
Other Strategies and Tactics To Reduce Anxiety and Anger
- Being aware that it’s something to work upon is the first thing to be proud of – if you’re not aware there’s no way you’re even going to work upon it
- For me – separating your work from your personal life or rather having some protected time without interruptions is important
- Breathing techniques and regular exercise really help
- Getting advice is powerful – I asked my coach Valentina about this and we identified that if I stayed off Whatsapp until 9am and then I also used this three breaths technique when task switching – we should see where that takes me
- Challenge these thought patterns – why are you anxious? Why are you angry? Does the situation really warrant such feelings or is this an overreaction?
Final Thoughts
I’m not sure how useful this is to you all – but it’s my exploration through trying to cope with the feelings of anxiousness and anger that have sometimes risen in me as a means of enjoying the journey I’m on some more.
By journey, I mean this path in business I’ve chosen to be the centre point of my life.
Until next time 😛
