Nights are hard for me sometimes.
I know; this sounds bizarre. Nights should be the best part of the day! I mean, I get off of work at 5:00pm (I know, I know… it’s super legit). I get home, have a tiny snack, sometimes make it to the gym, cook dinner, hang out and relax with Drew, watch TV, and read.. What’s hard about any of this, right? Even seeing this nightly routine laid out makes me feel a little silly.
Well, I can’t really put my finger on it. All I know is that, sometimes, around 8:30 or 9:00pm, I start to feel anxious. I go through the list in my head of things like errands to run, chores to do, phone calls to return, full-time jobs to apply for (I’m a temp, don’t know if I’ve mentioned that). Then I go bigger, thinking about… oh, you know, my career path in general, life goals, how I’m going to make a difference in the world.
Then, I get overwhelmed by all of it and, being a perfectionist, I decide that if I can’t do it perfectly, I shouldn’t do it at all (hence, my blog absence for the last couple of days). I know. It’s a really twisted way of thinking.
Obviously, everyone–everyone–has worries in their day-to-day lives. Everyone is going through something, and I hope you don’t misunderstand this confession as laundry list of complaints. Anxiety is just a part of my world (always has been), and sometimes the little worry troll in my head is too loud (exhibit A). I’m working on it.
In my crusade to minimize stress, I stumbled upon this article. A couple of sentences in I was like “YEAH YEAH YEAH! THAT’S ME!“. The article’s title reeks of cheesy “self-help”, but, if you experience anxiety, it’s worth the read. And if you don’t feel like reading it, skip to the bottom to read five Cognitive Behavioral Therapy exercises that you can do on your own to manage and reduce stress. Bettah believe I’ll be trying these out. My celebrities would be Oprah and Bethenny. Obviously.
So, I wanted to tell you that.
I’m curious. Do you ever get anxious? What are your tricks for shutting up your own little worry troll?
the history of ever 
I love this post! I totally relate to that “anxiety attack” at night. It’s good to have articles like this to remind you that you’re not the only one feeling that way!
A little while after I started work I went through a phase of severe anxiety about my job not doing enough to change the world. Then I went through a phase of anxiety about my job not being glamorous/interesting/cool/fun enough. So I can relate so much to the worries about carrer path/life goals/how to make a difference that you mentioned above. I really don’t get this anxiety anymore (no idea why because my job is the same), but it helps me to focus on the positives of my job (job security, good benefits, good people, etc.) and remind myself that NO ONE has it perfect – even that girl with the incredible dream job that is interesting, creative, and world-changing all at the same time. Apparently meditation works too, but I dont’ have the patience…
Right there with ya! I put on those work out duds and go on a walk/jog all the while taking LARGE deep breaths. If that doesn’t help…I hate to say it…listen to that angry music that you have on reserve for these specific occasions. Terrible, but Limp Bizkit is my fav haha.
Miss you and love you!
surprise! you are not alone…
my way of “shutting up the little troll” is to tell myself that someone’s always got it worse than me.
it’s my version of the pep talk. talk about twisted!
love you!