Many of y'all know that I have anxiety.
And not the regular anxiety that everyone gets. I have several mental illnesses including bipolar (which creates anxiety), OCD (mine focuses on obsessive thoughts, so when I get anxiety I cannot stop thinking about it), PTSD (which intensifies anxiety, specifically in certain situations), and then Generalized Anxiety Disorder.
I deal with these mental illnesses through medications and a variety of skills I've learned in therapy. I have done both DBT (dialectical behavior therapy) and CBT (cognitive behavior therapy). In both of these I learned skills to help break the cycle of obsessive thoughts and retrain my brain to focus away from anxiety.
One of the things I utilize is the 5-4-3-2-1 Things method. For this, I focus on five things I can see, four things I can touch, three things I can hear, two things I can smell, and one thing I can taste. This pulls me out of my head and makes me focus on things outside of myself.
I also focus on box breathing also called battle breathing, bomb breathing, or a few other names. Find that method by clicking here. This method allows me to focus on my breathing which turns my mind off and relaxes my body.
If I am feeling super anxious, I do not get on my horse as all of that anxious energy will transfer to them. I will hand walk them and focus on my breathing or the five things until I feel a little more under control.
Prior to the event, I focus on spending time each day with my horses. Then I remind myself that I did this and nothing bad happened. I focus on all the times I was successful with my horses instead of honing in on the bad things. I also visualize my runs or rides going smoothly every day. I do this before the run as well.
While at events I rarely socialize, and I don't watch every other rider. I will watch a few to see how the ground is holding, then I just focus on my horse and myself. Listening to music helps or visualizing perfect runs for myself and my horse. There are tons of methods to minimizing anxiety and fear, so find the ones that work for you.
I talk about mental health every Monday on my personal instagram page Click Here! I often share tips for overcoming anxiety and not letting it stop you. Along with other mental health and mental wellness tips and ideas.
A few years ago, I made a vow to confront the things that scare me. I overcame my fear of birds. I'm more at ease driving on highways, and I'm working on my fear of heights. Immersion therapy is not always effective, and you truly have to be in the right head space. But I wanted to not let my fear do things that I truly love.
I love riding horses, and I love barrel racing. Having my confidence destroyed by an ex impacted me in so many ways that I am healing from. Ultimately, I decided that I wasn't going to let him continue controlling my life and keeping me from doing things that I love. Although I will always deal with anxiety, I am finding ways to minimize it and do things that I need to do or love to do even when it scares me.
If you struggle with mental health, I highly recommend therapy and a medical professional to see if you need medication and therapeutic intervention. I know, without a doubt, that these things have saved my life on more than one occasion. It is great to reach out on social media or follow people who share their mental health journey, but NOTHING can replace medication and therapy.
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