On a September day in 2017, I read an article online about the connection between rage and anxiety. After reading the article, I had one of those moments where everything seemed to slow down and shift into focus. What I had, without really knowing it, was post-partum anxiety that I never addressed, and now here I was, more than 2 years later, barely hanging on by a thread. I felt relieved that this was a thing that was "not me" and could be addressed and resolved. However, I also felt regretful that I had gone on so long in a state of suffering thinking it was just normal "survival mode," but what hit deep was the suffering that I had caused my own family in my rage-ridden anxiety fog.

In order to begin healing, I had to find a way to build awareness of this feeling of anxiety and the specifics of how it manifests within me. This meant diving deep into the process through which emotions express through me. Through awareness, I developed clarity, which brought out into the open my fears to examine one by one, addressing the deep roots of my own anxiety.

Taking the subjective experience of how we feel our emotions and making it into an objective, observable state is no easy process, but once I was able to sit in the seat of detached consciousness and observe myself, I became more easily able to release the emotional tension in the moment, as it came up.

The more I saw it within me, the more I saw it everywhere around me, too.

I see constant reference to anxiety and other similarly fear-based disorders in today's media. Some of it joking or self-deprecating, but mostly it is self-revelatory or even matter-of-fact. This exposure is beginning to remove some of the stigma associated with mental health challenges, and I hope this means more people will be willing to seek support through community, coaching, therapy, and psychiatry when needed.

Anxiety disorders are the most common mental disorder in the US. Over 40 million adults experience disordered anxiety every year- and that's not taking into account the general anxiety many of us are feeling about politics, climate, and the stability of global relations and/or the threat of another world war.

Anxiety. Is. Everywhere.

So what do we do? You can see the ripple effects of this anxiety all across social media, in the news, in our families. We watch more news and read more articles when they have higher levels of sensationalism, creating a positive feedback loop between outlet and demographic. Is there a way to start turning this boat around?

The answer is absolutely yes. Throughout my journey, I have found a sense of calm. An unwavering baritone of peacefulness that echoes beneath every thought and stress response, even the anxious ones. By tapping into that core truth at any point that I need to, I can create a tranquility ripple of surrender and release moving out from within my center outward, into my realm of influence.

Imagine if we all had this inner tranquility pond to ripple at will? How would your life shift? How would our culture shift? What could life be like if we could all tap into this inner, unconditional sense of peace and contentment at any point?

What ripples would you make?

We can all start with a little self-care. I'm not talking about the modern paradigm of self-care being luxurious spa treatments or expensive treats we lavish ourselves with. I'm talking about self-care as a discipline. The unsexy stuff.

Going to bed on time.

Drinking less.

Regular, consistent exercise.

Doing the work to nourish your body with nutrient-rich foods.

Doing these fundamental self-care tasks supports vitality and health for our future selves and our future communities.

A healthy, well-taken care of body and mind is just going to be more resilient than one that is beaten, pushed, and dragged into long days and long nights in the pursuit of a "work hard play hard" lifestyle. Whether playing hard is going out with friends regularly and drinking a little too much or staying in and netflixing until 2 am, your body will be worse for the wear (both short and long term) because of it.

The good news is that you are the architect of your life and can determine exactly which self-care tasks will support your optimal growth and emotional resilience.

I challenge you this: Write down 2-3 self-care tasks in each of the following categories to come up with your own "Wellbeing Formula."

Spiritual

Mental

Emotional

Physical

Social

Environmental

Life Philosophy

This is a place to start for setting boundaries with yourself. If we won't set boundaries with ourselves first, then we're not going to experience respect for those boundaries from others.

From here, our tranquil ponds can begin to fill. It is a journey that can have immediate results if you commit to and trust the process.

If you would like support developing your own wellbeing formula, please don't hesitate to schedule a 30-minute call with me. Your health matters because you matter. What you DO matters. How you show up and experience your life matters and affects both those closest to you and your outer rings of influence.

https://calendly.com/ahahmo/30min

You have more power and impact than you realize.

In Truth,

Amanda