Читать книгу Jog on Journal: A Practical Guide to Getting Up and Running онлайн

32 страница из 37

• Made my back ache so much that moving was difficult.

• Made me feel as though my limbs were detached from me (that one is weird).

• Made my vision blurry.

• Made me so tired I found it hard to move.

• Made me lose my memory. Seriously – anxiety can mess with MEMORY.

These things were all very real to me. Not made-up, not fake, not attention-seeking. That’s how strong the mind is. There’s a list floating around the internet that I stumbled upon a few years back called something like ‘100 anxiety symptoms’ and I ticked ALL of them off. It was such a relief to realise that these physical issues could be explained – and a relief to know that I wasn’t alone in dealing with them.

I’m not suggesting that you chalk up all physical ailments to anxiety and never get medical help (norovirus is not all in your head). I am saying that we should all stop and think when we feel a niggle, a pain, a tingle and ask ourselves how our anxiety level is. That isn’t about minimising the physical discomfort or pain we’re in, it’s about taking our mental health seriously and connecting the dots. So here are two little exercises to help unite the mind and body a little more.