I Get Anxious. This Is What Turns My Slow Day Into A Productive One
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You’ve got a deadline. You know you have a list of tasks to be completed by a certain time, and yet you just can’t seem to focus. Your mind is wandering and, for the life of you, you can’t seem to stop other thoughts from taking hold.
At its worst, anxiety can be totally debilitating, and on a day to day basis, it can make focusing at work and in general life more of a challenge. I’ve suffered from anxiety for a long time, so I know first-hand how real the struggle can be.
Living with anxiety is complex. Some days are good, others are bad, and then there are those in between days where you just aren’t sure how you feel.
It doesn’t help that it can feel almost impossible to be productive on days where you’re struggling – but there are products (and practices) that can help. And that includes giving yourself a proper break. In every sense of the word.
There are certain tools I use to make coping on my more difficult days easier as well. These are things that genuinely help me to stay calm and take back some control of my own focus – I hope they might help you, too.
Help and support:
- Mind, open Monday to Friday, 9am-6pm on 0300 123 3393.
- CALM (the Campaign Against Living Miserably) offer a helpline open 5pm-midnight, 365 days a year, on 0800 58 58 58, and a webchat service.
- The Mix is a free support service for people under 25. Call 0808 808 4994 or email help@themix.org.uk
- Rethink Mental Illness offers practical help through its advice line which can be reached on 0808 801 0525 (Monday to Friday 10am-4pm). More info can be found on rethink.org.
- Samaritans offers a listening service which is open 24 hours a day, on 116 123 (UK and ROI - this number is FREE to call and will not appear on your phone bill).
