I used to go to rock concerts all the time. I’ve seen some amazing bands over the years – until my anxiety started to become more of a problem for me and then I had to make the hard decision to stop going. I’m not very good around crowds, I suffer from panic attacks and to be honest it’s a real struggle. I recently got invited along to the Taylor Swift Reputation Tour concert here in Auckland and as someone who has been a Taylor Swift fan for the last ten years or so, I knew there was no way I could say no. I had to find a way to go to the concert and not have my anxiety be an issue. Easier said than done. I thought that since anxiety in big crowds seems to be quite common I’d share a few of the things that helped me have a great time and minimise my anxiety. View Post
Living with anxiety
Trigger Warning: Mental Health, Anxiety
My anxiety isn’t cute. It’s not a something to be romanticised or played down. It’s not a trend. It can be incredibly debilitating, isolating and frustrating. A lot of the time my anxiety is quiet – from the outside I might look fine but inside I’m so overwhelmed I can’t even manage simple tasks.
I find it really hard to talk about mental health stuff, not because I’m ashamed (well maybe sometimes it’s that), but more because finding the words to describe what I’m feeling is hard. I know, me – a writer – struggling for words, it’s not what you’d expect is it? View Post