Coping With Anxiety: Tips
Last year in August of 2006 I had a heart attack.
When I returned from the hospital I did not know if I would be able to look after all the flowers and vegetables I had planted only a few short months before.
As I watched the plants wilting and slowly dying from lack of water and pruning I decided that even if I could only manage to look after a few at a time I would begin again to take an interest in these beautiful creations.
All the colours, textures, sizes and types I had planted, gave me inspiration to get up out of my chair and back into my life.
These seemingly small living things gave me a reason and a purpose to go outside each day and to get some much needed exercise and believe it or not, moral support while coping with anxiety.
Caring for something, even a plant brought my mind back from the brink of despair and sadness.
I started to feel each day had a purpose to it other than to sit and dwell on my own physical self.
My husband said that these plants needed care and that I was what they needed.
He was using my need to be the care giver to get me inspired.
I had to admit that the need to care for something else other than myself helped distance the immediate shock, fear, anxiety and worry I was feeling.
I did not want to be alone after the heart attack and when everyone was away living their lives and working I had the plants to take care of.
Seeing them sprout and stand tall and healthy after a few days of care gave me a sense of accomplishment and pride.
I did not think I would even ever see the plants again, let alone be out there with the watering can everyday.
Taking pictures of their progress and looking back on the summer gave me an emotional lift during the bleak winter months.
I had something to remind me of the motivation I needed in the past along with the anticipation of the coming year.
I always felt that spring was my time to come to life after the long winter and planting would begin again.
The planting of seeds in the ground and the seeds of thought in my mind.
My point here is that the littlest thing, if you care enough about it can be therapeutic when coping with anxiety.
I discovered that a heart attack is not the end of the world for me but a new beginning and I come to this beginning with emotional tools I did not know I had.
I used these tools just as you would the rakes, hoes, and shovels you use to tend your plants and gardens.
http://www.
anxietyended.
com
When I returned from the hospital I did not know if I would be able to look after all the flowers and vegetables I had planted only a few short months before.
As I watched the plants wilting and slowly dying from lack of water and pruning I decided that even if I could only manage to look after a few at a time I would begin again to take an interest in these beautiful creations.
All the colours, textures, sizes and types I had planted, gave me inspiration to get up out of my chair and back into my life.
These seemingly small living things gave me a reason and a purpose to go outside each day and to get some much needed exercise and believe it or not, moral support while coping with anxiety.
Caring for something, even a plant brought my mind back from the brink of despair and sadness.
I started to feel each day had a purpose to it other than to sit and dwell on my own physical self.
My husband said that these plants needed care and that I was what they needed.
He was using my need to be the care giver to get me inspired.
I had to admit that the need to care for something else other than myself helped distance the immediate shock, fear, anxiety and worry I was feeling.
I did not want to be alone after the heart attack and when everyone was away living their lives and working I had the plants to take care of.
Seeing them sprout and stand tall and healthy after a few days of care gave me a sense of accomplishment and pride.
I did not think I would even ever see the plants again, let alone be out there with the watering can everyday.
Taking pictures of their progress and looking back on the summer gave me an emotional lift during the bleak winter months.
I had something to remind me of the motivation I needed in the past along with the anticipation of the coming year.
I always felt that spring was my time to come to life after the long winter and planting would begin again.
The planting of seeds in the ground and the seeds of thought in my mind.
My point here is that the littlest thing, if you care enough about it can be therapeutic when coping with anxiety.
I discovered that a heart attack is not the end of the world for me but a new beginning and I come to this beginning with emotional tools I did not know I had.
I used these tools just as you would the rakes, hoes, and shovels you use to tend your plants and gardens.
http://www.
anxietyended.
com
