When I suffered with anxiety and frequently had attacks, I hated being in my body. I felt like I needed to climb out of myself.
To get away.
The feelings were intense.
I would do anything and everything to distract myself. My body didn’t feel safe. Emotions in my body were frightening and overwhelming, so blocking them instead led to them getting trapped inside me which is what created the anxiety.
Learning to sit through the waves of anxiety, connect to my body, understand the emotion then giving it space to show up in my body allowed me to process my emotions better. Over time I have pretty much ‘cured’ my anxiety doing this. On the odd occasion if I haven’t been on top of my self-care and have ended up allowing other people’s emotions to affect mine I can slip into an anxious episode. But instead of it lasting hours or days, I can work through it quite quickly with the tools I have created.
So learning to get back into my body and trust it has been quite a journey.
When out with my family I try to push myself to do little things to connect with sensations and the movement, to push my perceived limitations.
The photo here of me jumping from a fallen tree was quite a big thing. My eldest who’s primary school age was further along where it’s higher and didn’t even flinch. He totally went for it. It took me a moment.
Breathe.
Trust that I will land safely.
So I did it.
Twice!
And it felt good.
My body held me.
So tell me how you’re feeling in your body today?
Carla Crivaro is a trauma-informed and certified Sex, Love & Relationship Coach, she works with men and women internationally to reach their goals in delicious sex, profound love and authentic relationships. Carla helps men and women understand themselves and each other, sexually and relationally, in and out of the bedroom. You can reach her at hello@carlacrivaro.com.