Anxiety Survival Kit

Today I thought I would do an Anxiety survival kit, because throughout the past decade and a half I have realized most of my bag contents are there for my anxiety. It is tough because it can pop up at any time, which means I need to always be prepared for the inevitable.

These are my top essential items to surviving Anxiety when out and about. Being only 17 I am still finding my way, so if you have any essentials, make sure you leave them in the comments for me!

1. I don't know about you, but my anxiety means I get a really dry mouth so a bottle of water is a must for me. When I get anxiety attacks I often feel really nauseous, so water is my #1 essential to surviving.

2. My Phone is also really important for me, and for so many reasons. Firstly is works as a safety net, if I need someone I can call them right away, I can text people, and I know they always have my back and will help me through it. Secondly it works as a distraction, playing apps, scrolling through Pinterest etc. Thirdly meditation, I use the meditation app Headspace. 

3. Sometimes I just need peace and quiet to drown out the forever rising anxiety levels, so head phones are a necessity. Listening to music also helps, but I actually don't play anything in my head phones. I would do this all the time at school, everyone else was playing music, and mine didn't do anything but muffle everyone else's chatter.

4. I am someone who LOVES reading, so a good self help book has become a recent necessity. I find them so empowering and motivational, and they really help to get me back in the right mindset. Honestly these are currently my #1 go to when I start feeling an Anxiety attack coming on. 

5. Anxiety attacks make me seriously nauseous, to the point of throwing up. But once it does start to calm down I am often left rather hungry so granola bars come in really handy for this.

6. Aromatherapy roller balls (or whatever you call them) in other words the Saje stress relief roller ball. I included this in the My Purse Is Worse blog post, so you can see what I am on about over there, but the calming oils really help when I am feeling particularly anxious. Just roll it on your wrists and temples and you're golden. 

7. This one might sound a bit odd, but I always like to make sure I have messages to look back on. For example, if I am getting wrapped up in my head and convince myself someone doesn't like me for whatever reason, I'll look back on conversations with them on my phone. I find this always helps because I am always over reacting, but sometimes I just need that reminder. I also like to look back on comments from videos/the blog, because reading them makes me feel so loved, and sometimes that is exactly what I need.

8. Photos are always incredibly useful and go hand in hand with the messages from above. Looking back on photos, whether they are on my phone, or polaroids in my bag, means I can look back at all the happy times. It reminds me of when I was healthy and calm. But most importantly, it reminds me  that I will get back to that state.