October 2018 - Louisville Health and Healing

It’s that time of the year: The holidays are upon us.; the end of the school semester is upon us; daylight Savings Time is upon us. We are in the last quarter of the year. Do you feel it? Do you feel the anxiety of it all?

More Americans experience anxiety more than any other mental health disorder and that number is climbing. Maybe you experience anxiety daily or in certain situations. Or maybe you don’t. OR…maybe you don’t know if you experience anxiety.

For me, I’ve always had this unsettled part of me that is chomping at the bit for more. The anxiety I experience is a subtle gnawing at my unconsciousness that is very restless and unsettling. I’m generally anxious at any given time during the day (or night). My dentist said that I grind my teeth which means I have anxious energy that I am trying to release while sleeping. I believe that I used substances for the longest time to compensate for the anxiety I’ve had. I have never quite fit into my own skin. There is somewhere that I always need to go. Now, I have been better and more responsible at how I manage and decrease my anxiety but it still shows up randomly throughout my day and week.

What the hell is anxiety?

Excessive worry that is difficult to control
Could show up as perfectionism and the need to control situations
Restlessness or feeling on edge
Being easily fatigued
Difficulty concentrating and mind going blank
Irritability
Muscle tension
Sleep disturbance (trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or unsatisfying sleep)

Some of these symptoms come from The DSM-5. More than likely, if some or most of these symptoms resonate with you then you may be experiencing anxiety. Most of us experience some form of anxiety with varying intensity, frequency, and duration. Social anxiety is also very common and can lead to obsessive-compulsive behaviors like using alcohol and drugs to alleviate anxiolytic symptoms. It’s not uncommon for dependency on alcohol and drugs to develop as a result of self-medicating.

What if I have anxiety? I will offer a list of options for overcoming the anxiety that does not include medication. Most medications for anxiety only address the symptoms of anxiety. Plus, a lot of anxiety meds can be easily abused and can lead to addiction.

Try Neurofeedback
Mindfulness meditation
Low to moderate exercise
Limit caffeine and energy drinks
Avoid stimulants
EMDR therapy
Simple breathing exercises
CBD/hemp oil
Lower expectations for self and others
Try being playful and have fun

These are a few things that can have an impact on relieving symptoms of anxiety. Also, stop taking yourself so seriously and laugh a little! Laughter is good medicine.

I have been on this journey of healing and self-discovery for many years now. What I have realized is that the more I discover the more I dig. The more I dig, then the more I discover. Healing and transformation is a chaotic, confusing, and exhausting process. Sometimes I can’t even describe what my internal world wants to tell me. There are so much evolution and synthesis going on between my head, heart, and soul.

For most of my life, my internal world came out however it could—addictions, passive-aggressiveness, intense persecution, and ridicule of others. I had no way of processing and releasing my internal world. I did not know how to relax, have fun, and create something to represent my process.

Transformation and change are a dying and birthing process. Something is created when we change. It could be a new thought, belief, narrative, or life script—something is created. Pain happens in the transformation process too—grieving, rage, and hostility can be very overwhelming and scary.

When we experience trauma, suffering, and pain our struggle can be adding language to our experiences. Part of the brain that deals with these hurts actually goes off-line to cope. Being creative allows for language and meaning to be attached to our suffering. Creativity allows for relief of pain and integration of transformation. It allows for a safe way to nudge our brain to stay in the game a bit longer—it leads to healing…

Expression through creativity leads to healing. Expressive therapists such as music and art therapy are highly effective practices. People actually specialize in expressive therapy. So, it works and there is research to back that up.

I am working with a mentor on how to use pottery as a creative process. He said something to me about an experience he had in therapy a long time ago. He said, “my therapist asked if I ever got angry”. I said “no”. The therapist then requested for him to get a drum. He bought a drum and did not realize how angry he actually was. Moral of the story—We need things to help us express our internal landscape even if we think “we’re okay” and “don’t have any issues”. It will always come out either in a creative process or a destructive process.

Here are some ways to be expressive and creative:

Writing poetry, music, and stories
Playing instruments
Painting, drawing
Pottery and woodworking

It doesn’t have to make sense. Allow for the creativity that you have to illustrate the beautiful transformative process that you are in—that we are all in all of the time. I would love to hear your ideas and see what you create.

A is for Anxiety

Creativity and The Healing Process

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