time to relax

a few nights ago i headed downtown for a sushi and wine night with the girls. we don’t see each other as often as we’d like to, but when we do get together it’s as if we never skipped a beat. our convos are pretty much always filled with weird intimate details and crazy stories that come from having lived together all through college. most onlookers would neither understand nor want to understand. we think we’re hilarious.

among many topics, stress and anxiety was one of them. would you believe that 5 out of the 6 of us described having bouts of anxiety and panic attacks throughout our days? um, what? we are 24 years of age. sounds like we all need one big chill pill.

i’ve decided that my anxiety has to do in part with the fact that many aspects of my life are in a bit of limbo right now. i’m having a really hard time with not being able to be in control of it all. uncertainty drives me bonkers!

i’m slowly making my way through this book, and it has introduced me to meditation and breathing techniques that i’m really starting to look forward to each night. i’ve also been eating whole foods, cutting down on the caffeine, working out (kind of) regularly and trying to get at least 8 hours of sleep each night because taking good care of my body is really one of the only things i DO have control over.

just last night i was sitting in bed, heart pounding with this sense of urgency to do something, who knows what. i’m usually a pretty calm-and-collected kind of gal so, at the risk of sounding like a crazy with this post, i felt that it might be a grand idea to turn to you all and see if you’ve encountered times in your life like this and what the heck you do to kick stress to the curb. do tell!

photo source (typographic element is my own addition)