Anxiety: It’s Not Just a Pat Benatar Deep Cut
Ever heard of a little annoyance called anxiety? Oh, I bet you have. How many of us have had a panic attack?
Mine became more frequent after the pandemic protocol was lifted and we could begin living our new normal. I vividly remember one in the summer of 2022 that snuck up on me in the Target parking lot. My husband had our boys at his shop and I was supposed to meet them for lunch after I did a Target run. Throughout that entire shopping trip I could feel a level of unease crackling in my subconscious. I wrote it off as making an extra effort to avoid putting fun little extras into my cart, since Covid left our financial situation not as secure as it was previously. But once I finished checking out and was pushing the cart toward my car, my heart started pounding and suddenly I felt like I couldn’t breathe.
Fortunately (is that really the right word here?) I have had a panic attack before, so I knew what it was. I got to my car and called my husband, who immediately wanted to come get me so he could calm me down. But he did exactly what I asked him to and needed him to do in that moment, which was taking the boys to lunch without me while I sat in my car and spent several minutes focusing on breath work to regulate my nervous system.
See, I know what to do because I’ve had to learn. I had my first panic attack in my late 20s. Like many people that don’t know what the fuck is happening, I thought I was dying and ended up calling my ex at 2:00 in the morning. Thank goodness he knew what it was and got me to calm down. Then well over a decade later my younger son started having panic attacks when he was seven years old. My husband and I were at a loss for a hot minute, but were fortunate enough to have a psychologist friend and fellow parent from our kiddo’s elementary school refer us to a great children’s book called Hey Warrior).
Here we are five years later and I still read that book with my son…it’s been such a valuable resource. I still have a few extra copies on hand just in case, since my anxiety since becoming a mother has been the kind that causes me to buy several of the same thing “just in case.” (This particular quirk came in really handy when we lost that same son’s bear “Bee” when we moved into our current home seven years ago. I just so happened to have a spare. 😅🥳)
But you’re a weight loss coach, Dana…why are you rambling on about anxiety? Well, cuties…there’s a connection. When stress drives you to eat, what do you think the act of eating is doing for you?
I’ll wait.
(Insert that lil’ Jeopardy tune here)
Give up yet?
It’s regulating your nervous system.
So when you start berating yourself for “blowing it again,” I’d like to offer you a new perspective. Maybe you can cut yourself a fucking break and consider that your body is throwing up signals to you that it’s deregulated, and eating is how you’ve managed that deregulation for however many months/years/decades you’ve been battling this particular demon.
Now, I’m not saying that you can suddenly flip a switch and start breathing differently and your stress eating habit will instantly fall away. That’s not how any of this works. But AWARENESS is the beginning of the steps it takes to learn, practice, and develop new patterns in dealing with and healing our reactions to stress.
I’m also linking a podcast episode from the fabulous Mel Robbins that might be particularly helpful to those of you that deal with anxiety:
The Secret To Stopping Fear and Anxiety (That Actually Works)
Contact me at dana@revolution-within.com anytime with any questions or comments you may have. I’m here to help you find a better way to regulate.
Love and hugs,
Dana