UNEASE

Unease, Uneasy. That awful feeling deep in your gut that doesn’t feel right. It feels like the beginning of panic, taking the mind on an unwelcome journey. It’s an uncomfortable feeling, restlessness.

Disease. Dis-ease. If unease means ‘anxiety’ and ‘discontent’ then it’s little wonder that those constant emotions make you sick. Too much negative emotion will fire up adrenalin, deplete the body and lead to exhaustion. The sickness can be as much mental as physical. It’s the mental fatigue that troubles the soul, and that’s where the greatest impact will be had.

The cause of unease is never a mystery. The answer will be lying just below the surface, perhaps in the periphery. It might be tangible, or a feeling caused by a trigger today of an experience yesterday. Therefore not all sense of unease is is related to the present day, it could be triggered from a memory.

Memories can be wonderful, allowing special times to be enjoyed again. Sometimes it’s an image, a feeling, a song, a smell, taking you back to another lifetime, or so it seems. Conversely, a memory can be dark, chaotic or intense and the emotions can be challenging. The key is to embrace the memories for what they are, as they arise, no matter how uncomfortable. They’ve resurfaced for a reason and could be there as a lesson. Tune in.

Identify unease, make friends with it, understand it, move through it and learn from it. Then with love, let it go.

ANXIETY

Just the thought of anxiety leaves me cold. Anxiety, impending doom.

Anxiety can be a positive as it’s a sign that you’ve moved away from personal anchors and are adrift. The feeling of deep discomfort, panic, fear and uneasiness is a signal to recognise the triggers which in turn allows the opportunity to take some action.

A lot of my anxiety is brought about by self talk or situational interpretation. I recognise that self talk can be counter-productive and that my perception can be just that, perception. It’s dangerous to over-think and rapidly decide an outcome. Most of the time, when the situation unfolds or all the pieces are put together, the reality is quite different. Meanwhile stress and anxiety have crept in, creating paralysis and unnecessary internal angst.

I’ve learnt is to detach from outcomes, be patient and allow things to unfold naturally, to take their time. In the interim, get busy, stay distracted, be productive and most of all be kind. Be kind to you.

The ridiculous pace of life and the pressures of trying to be everything and do everything leads not only to exhaustion, but also the grim feeling of being overwhelmed which creates paralysis and an inability to prioritise. Being overwhelmed feels like being in a tunnel with the walls rapidly closing in.

Nature, for me it’s water if I can get near it, it’s beneficial and reminds me to breathe. Breathing is the foundation of life and so much of life is spent shallow breathing as stress and anxiety take hold. Deep breathe, concentrate on the rhythm of breath, it’s repetitious, basic and soothing and pulls you back to the now. Looking too far ahead can be daunting.

Simplicity. Keeping things simple, keeping them light, appreciating the small things, even the mundane and being grateful. This can take you away from anxiety, anxiety is heavy and dull, noticing the small things is basic and free.

Breathe in alignment, breathe out anxiety.