As the 50% sale rolls around and I find my birthday coming up in four weeks, this post couldn't be any better timed
-rachelx
13/10/2014
12/10/2014
Top tips for coping with anxiety and university
My last anxiety-related blogpost had such a great, positive response
which actually (though I was gonna do this anyway) really spurred me on to get
writing my next one!
Someone messaged me through Tumblr right after I shared the last post
saying they have been unable to make it to their classes so far this year, for
whatever reasons, and now that they’ve started going they’re afraid everybody
has made friends which might be hard for them to join in discussion or meet new
people. I was super happy my post engaged people and got them asking for
advice!
So I devised a list of coping techniques, nothing fancy just simple
stuff, that you can try out when facing Uni lectures/seminars or even just a
basic classroom-type situation.
1)
Show Up
As simple as it may sound, this is the
first and most basic step. A lot of people with anxiety find it hard to even
get out the house so the fact that class HAS to happen can be daunting. You may
want to look at my next couple steps first before trying this one out, just as
a “warm up”. There have been instances where I’ve shown up to classes but
decided just before I go in that I can’t sit through an entire class and
looking after yourself like this is absolutely fine, as long as you know that
you have to overcome the fear at some point.
2)
Go for
walks, calm yourself
When you’re in an
anxiety-triggering situation, all you want to do is get out, get out and get
some fresh air. I like to get as much as this as possible, that stuffy
claustrophobic feeling doesn’t help at all. Situations where I COULD get on a
bus or in a taxi, for quickness reasons mainly, I try to avoid and I walk
everywhere. Especially in winter, I find cold sharp air is really good to just
clear your head and light exercise is said to be super beneficial for anxiety
sufferers!
3)
Plan, get
up early yet don’t stick to a tight schedule
If I have a
lecture starting at 10am? I always manage to get up 2 hours before at most, I
never know what I have to do: wash my hair, pack my bag, whatever. It’s always
good to leave loadsa time before you have to do something anxiety-triggering.
Waking up with only a half hour to go before your lecture starts isn’t a fab
way to start your day, it leaves you feeling flustered, hot from rushing about
and unprepared! Another thing is don’t stick to a tight schedule, that feeling
of knowing you have something nerve-racking to achieve for a specific deadline
is not enjoyable so give yourself time and relaaaaax. That being said, if you
DO have deadlines to meet i.e. assignments/homework then get a head start and
leave yourself plenty of time to refine your essays/whatever you got goin’ on.
4)
Don’t
over-drink and don’t think doing so makes you a “terrible” fresher or student
On my first night
out in Liverpool, it started to get pretty late and pretty hot inside the club
we were in so I went to fetch some water. A guy standing next to me told me “if
you resort to drinking water it’s time to go home”. The guy was friendly and
all but I really just wanted to tell him to fuck off. On another occasion my
friend was told she was a “bad fresher” because we haven’t attempted to go out
every night of our being here. This is dumb and you’d probably be broke by the
end of the two weeks of freshers. I know a lot of people tend to stay away from
alcohol (and I do with caffeine, see next point) but I know my limits and I
drink carefully. It can seem like such a “lame” thing to do, I must admit to
often thinking I probably am for doing so, but if it’s the difference between
feeling like you’re going to die from a panic attack the next day or feeling
just a little hungover, then don’t drink (or do but not excessively).
5)
Eat well,
Stay Hydrated
The phrase “you
are what you eat” is the truest thing I ever did hear. Eat shit, feel like shit
and this is all the more true if you have anxiety. Admittedly, I am no health
guru and my diet is pretty shitty but at least I know what to preach. I DO
drink a lot of flavoured teas however. My
favourites including: chamomile, blackberry, mango and liquorice. Green Tea is
especially good for you due to all the ant-oxidants and super cool things
jam-packed in there in order to make you feel tip top. I usually drink
chamomile before bed because I find it super soothing. I also try to eat as
much fruit as I can (which isn’t enough). Don’t believe the myth that eating
healthy is expensive for students because I got one word for you all: Aldi.
Don’t drink caffeinated drinks either, these tend to put me on edge and have me
shaking though my lectures. Sweets too, I had a bag of skittles on Tuesday and
had to endure an hour-long panic attack through my History lecture, not fun at
all.
6)
Speak up!
Just try it. I can
promise that a snowball effect will begin to take place, if you contribute in
class the more you will then do so in the future. You need to break that
barrier and realise that there’s nothing to be afraid of. No-one will laugh at
you (unless they’re dickwads) everyone is in the same boat, everyone is new and
no-one cares if you say something “stupid” because I bet at least one person
finds what you say super insightful. If you have presentations to do in front
if a seminar group/class then don’t over prepare. I've found that the older you get the smaller
classroom sizes are and the easier it gets to speak. Just follow the above
steps, if you know you have a presentation in advance get loadsa sleep, eat
right and all that jazz because you don’t wanna be a shaking jittery mess, especially
if it counts towards your final grade. I bet I’m making this all sound so easy
but it’s the little things that add up.
I hope you found my little list of tips helpful! I’ve been meaning to
make something up like this for ages so now here it is, message me here,
comment or message me on tumblr if you have any questions, I love answering
them. I love helping others, even though I’m still learning and coping myself
it’s just super cool.
-Rachel
10/10/2014
Winter, Anxiety and University
I've been at university five weeks as of today! I feel super at home already and I'm having such an amazing time and, just to answer anyone who is wondering whether to go or not next year or in future years, DO IT. It's such a great way to break off from home life and to ease yourself into independence as opposed to just taking one giant leap, especially if you aren't ready for that kinda thing.
For the first couple weeks it was absolutely roasting here in Liverpool, like I seriously went to the shops in pyjama shorts and a top and was too hot.......in September......in England......yeah.
Since October hit us the weather has taken a rather funny turn and it's actually starting to get quite cold. A plus regarding breaking out my winter coat collection but also quite a negative for various other reasons.
Last October/November time is when I started to get my first signs of anxiety and the December Christmas holidays is when it really hit bad. If you have an anxiety attack in a certain place then you begin to associate that place with the attack you had, therefore when you revisit, all the previous feelings come flooding back. As much as I get this with individual locations, I've recently learned i might possibly start to associate last Autumn/Winter's events with this Winter, setting me up for a pretty bad time.
I used to LOVE Christmas as a child, and I mean L O V E. Not just the present-giving but the whole atmosphere, the excitement everyone has, the unity and just sitting in on a freezing cold night sat in front of the fire with my family watching the X Factor (before it got shit). Last Christmas holidays I think i sat inside the entire time on my laptop, basically having the worst time of my life and the last thing I want is a repeat of that this year, especially with going back to university in the New Year.
I was sat in a lecture on Tuesday and weird feelings of last Winter just started to run through me. It's kind of bitter-sweet really. I looked at people taking off their coats and shaking off umbrellas and I started to feel very weird. As much as I love fuzzy jumpers and cuddling up inside a classroom with a hot-chocolate, trying desperately to take down notes with completely numb fingers, it's hard to enjoy this when the heat you feel from anxiety consumes you and all you want to do is stand outside in the freezing cold so you feel like you're getting at least SOME air (by the way, no sarcasm there, i genuinely enjoy stuff like that).
Some time last week (i think) Zoella was on radio one with Aled for The Surgery between 9pm and 10pm and were taking calls regarding anxiety experiences and top tips. I did ring in hoping to share my story and chatted to a lovely lady for a few minutes about life at uni but sadly they never rang me back :(
I think I've coped incredibly well at Uni so far and I'd love to share any tips or tricks for coping with anxiety at uni if any of you are interested? Or even school, I mean same goes for both I suppose!
I know this was a longer less visually-stimulating post than the ones I usually write but I just kind of had a case of word-vomit and felt like sharing this with you tonight!
Happy Mental Health Awareness Day also! I'm gonna crack on with watching some Youtube vids and open a box of flap jack! (insert peace sign emoji right here)
Here are some images I've taken of Lpool over the past couple weeks....
-Rachel
01/10/2014
Cord Pants and other things I really shouldn't have bought, Haul
This cutesy Blue-lilac jumper I picked up from Forever 21 has such a perfect cowl neckline and is a great partner for a good 'ol pair of black skinnies! (High-waist, of course). The weather in Liverpool is that awkward between phase that we call Autumn. England doesn't really have cold, cute autumn weather. Some days are freezing and some days are sweltering and we're expected to deal with it. In preparation for November/December I picked this up for £18.
Resurrection is a cool shop on Bold Street in Liverpool that sells lovely vintage clothes for amazing prices! I'd been searching for this store for what seems like forever but "just so happened" to stumble upon it this afternoon. The women's section seems to sell a lot more vintage items than the Mens (bonus). I searched and searched and found this plaid Levis shirt, for a measly £17.50!! Not to mention my student discount, which comes into good use at the best of times. I've wanted a plaid shirt for an absolute age, what i love about this one is that it's a good, thick material and not just flimsy cotton you find on most plaid shirts (Topman i'm looking at you). Again, a great Autumn/Winter piece!
Also from Resurrection, I got this pleated skirt ft a great array of pastel colours. I'm a lover of midi skirts but not necessarily a collector. This cost about £11.
Now the last clothing piece was actually on my list of things-to-get from today's lil trip (which is how I justify the price). Pants-wise I only really have two pairs of jeans I actually wear and on a student-budget washing those two pairs of jeans twice a week isn't something i wanna be doing, so another pair of trousers was on the list. These are a gorrrrgeous pair of black cord trousers from Urban Outfitters. They're from a brand that UO sell at Urban Renewal called; One & Only. They're amazingly comfy and are the first pair of high-waist pants I have that sit perfectly on my waist without falling down (medium size)! They cost £48, £43.20 with student discount.
I handed my Mac v-plates over to them last Saturday when I bought this gorgeous eyeshadow pot. Honestly though, I lie, I actually own one Mac lipstick but I'm not counting it this time, I got so excited about this shadow! Zoella used it in her most recent make-up tutorial (she did a rather heavy lippy and shadow look I believe) and I couldn't waaaaait to get my hands on it. The shade is "Amber Lights" and I didn't realise before just how pigmented these shadows are, it will probably last me FOREVER. (£13)
Lastly, I popped into Waterstones and picked up a copy of Absolute Beginners by Colin Macinnes. This is actually required reading for my Uni course but the cover and blurb look like I'd enjoy this book regardless, and who knows i might even do i lil review!
"London, 1958. In the smoky jazz clubs of Soho and the coffee bars of Notting Hill, the young and the restless - the absolute beginners - are revolutionising youth culture and forging a new carefree lifestyle of sex, drugs and rock'n'roll. Moving in the midst of this world of mods and rockers, Teddy gangs and trads, and snapping every scene with his trusty Rolleiflex, is Macinnes's young photographer, whose unique wit and honest views remain the definitive account of London life in the 1950's and what it means to be a teenager."
Hope your week is getting along good! I'm totally relying on these Wednesdays and Thursdays I have off to get me through this year, never underestimate the difficulty of degree-level work!
-\rachel
29/09/2014
OOTW: 22nd Sept - 26th
I apologise in advance for the terrible layout of this entire post. I hate scaling photo's and arranging them in this tiny text box, it can be so hard to work with sometimes.
I also apologise for the fact that there are only 4 sets of photo's here when there really should be five (Rachel-Helen's an outfit repeater).
This Outfits Of The Week segment is something I want to start (although I did so rather shabbily). I can't really "do" youtube at the minute as I left home and home is kinda where my filming camera is (or should I say my sister's filming camera). This idea was something to project onto my youtube channel but since that is a no-go, I'll blog it instead!
22ND SEPTEMBER
Monday's is a lecture followed by a seminar, finish at 1 then sleep til 6pm kinda day. I opted for this tartan-print woollen skirt I have from Urban Outfitters as I can move as freely as a bird in it without having to worry about flashing my butt when I sit down! For modesty purposes as opposed to fashion purposes I wore a grey crop top from Topshop underneath this (very) sheer tee from Urban Outfitters. My socks are from Topshop and they're ankle socks with black stripe accents so they add a sporty-vibe to the outfit. This wasn't intended, they were just the socks I happened to pick up that day...
And also there are my docs and my Piccadilly Records tote which I picked up from Piccadilly Records in Manchester (Oldham Street).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
23RD SEPTEMBER
It seems I, accidentally, again opted for the light-tee tartan-skirt combo (unintentionally, promise). The skirt I got from American Apparel an the tee is actually very oversized and from Topshop! As are my shoes and my bag is actually Primark. I actually am very fond of this outfit but it takes a lot of self-discipline to sit through lectures in this top as the feel of it irritates my hands.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
24TH SEPTEMBER
Wednesday was a far more casual day. Or should I say recovering-from-hangover/just-drinking-tea-all-day day. To me, there is nothing better than the black jeans/stripy tee combo. These are a pair of Topshop Joni jeans with the knee rips (of course, however they do fray a bunch). The tee is a deep deep navy blue/black striped tee from H&M Basics. As you can see, i'd spent that day gorging away on bags and bags of Tyrells. And fro some reason later that night I found myself going out somewhere so I just threw on my Levi's denim jacket. My lipstick is also Kiss of Life from the Kate Moss collection for Rimmel and my scrunchie is from Urban Outfitters!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
25TH/26TH SEPTEMBER
I wore pretty much the same thing for both Thursday and Friday (my bad). And I do apologise also for the photo placement, I guess a pub toilet was where I found myself that night. Again I wore my Topshop Joni Jeans but this time I paired them with the grey croptop-Sheer tee combo and threw on my Sheer Kimono from H&M! My shoes are also a pair of white leather gladiator sandals from Urban Outfitters. My scrunchie is from American Apparel.
As it turns out that night I was attending a Jaws gig and boy didn't I realise that white sandals were a totally bad idea. I also got chewing gum stuck in my hair and had to cut a whole section out. Standard.
Short and short of this post is that I suppose I've transitioned through to my autumn-outfit choices, although I don't suppose I even own any summer ones to be honest.
-Rachel
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)