Category: anxiety

an unexpected message…

For various reasons, the almost-ever-present anxiety has been especially high lately and the struggle has seemed even more difficult. I’ve been turning to my usual helpers: prayer, creativity, painting, distracting, watching “comfort” shows and movies, spending time outside, talking with loved ones, working on genealogy and local hometown history, doing brain retraining and breathing exercises and relaxation techniques.

But still. There’s been one stressful thing after another and…very high anxiety.

Sunday evening, I had my weekly phone call with my cousin, and I asked her what she did that helped her not be afraid all the time. We’ve talked about this sort of thing before, and I know she has a deep faith, and I was fairly certain she would talk about God and faith and trust. And she did.

Her words and her reminders were helpful for me, and one of the things she reminded me about was how God already knows what’s ahead for us. That’s something I remind myself of quite often, but sometimes it helps to hear things from someone else. It can help to hear a thing phrased in a different way or hear it at a specific time when it connects with us on a different level. That’s how it was for me to hear my cousin’s words.

The next day I was texting this same cousin, and my phone added something I hadn’t typed. I ended up taking a screenshot of part of the text and highlighting the phrase added by my phone:

I had intended to type “God already knows all about the car(s) and the finances and what’s ahead” but before I even started on the word what, my phone inserted everything is good.

So it ended up as: “God already knows all about the car(s) and the finances and everything is good.”

Everything is good.

Everything is good.

My phone will sometimes put or change a word it thinks I mean instead of what I actually write, but never has my phone inserted an entire phrase before. I wasn’t touching anything on the screen at all when the words appeared. I hadn’t even put the first letter of the next word I planned to write.

But what a perfect ending to the sentence.

“God already knows all about the car(s) and the finances and everything is good.”

What a perfect message for me during a time of high anxiety.

Everything is good.

And I did take it as a message, a message to me from God. God, who knows my fears and anxieties. God, who knows exactly what’s going on and what’s to come. God, who loves me and wants me to fear not.

I took it as a message and a reminder that God’s got me. Even when hard things are happening.

❤

genealogy as calming distraction…

In some of my posts the past few months, I’ve talked about things I do for calming distraction. These activities are valuable parts of my days and weeks as I continue to navigate life with severe anxiety. They help shift my thinking out of the loops of fearful catastrophizing that my brain can do. They help me relax into the moment and keep my focus on what I’m doing at the present time, instead of worrying about what might be ahead.

Genealogy is one of those calming and distracting activities for me.

And apparently I’m not alone when it comes to genealogy being a helpful way to spend time. In the American Ancestors newsletter from January 31, 2025, they state:

Research indicates that engaging students in family history research can have a positive impact on their mental well-being. Studies suggest that genealogy can contribute to lower anxiety levels and increased resilience in the face of challenges.

To be honest, I’m not sure if I’ve received increased resilience in the face of challenges. But the part about lower anxiety is definitely true for me. Spending time doing genealogy hasn’t been a permanent fix – the calming distraction, for me, has so far been temporary. But I’ll gladly take temporary respite over constant feelings of stress and high anxiety.

My relationship with genealogy has been off-and-on going back to my teenage years, and there have been big gaps of time between my dives into family history. This time around, I’ve been fairly consistent with my genealogy hobby since autumn 2020.

I spend time with the physical notebooks and binders and printouts of genealogy research I’ve accumulated over the years, and I spend time researching online at places like Ancestry and FamilySearch.

For the past few years, I’ve been blending research about my family with research about the local histories of where they lived – especially the history of my hometown. I especially like to find maps and pictures and information about streets and stores and churches and workplaces where my ancestors would have spent time.

All of this helps me by distracting me from whatever unpleasant or worrying thing that might be going on. It gives me somewhere else to temporarily place my focus – literally, in the case of genealogy and historical research, putting my attention on another place and another time.

Have you dipped into genealogy as a hobby?

If not, you might want to give it a try and see if it captures your attention and interest. If you find it boring or frustrating, then pass it by. But if you find it to be a calming distraction, maybe it will help you too.

❤

 

 

crochet as calming distraction…

As I’ve talked about in my last couple of posts (here and here), I’ve been really diving into creative activities to help me with stress and anxiety.

Something I’ve recently returned to, after many years away from it, is crochet. My mother taught me to crochet when I was in elementary school, and although I’ve never tackled anything fancy – I’ve kept to simple patterns for the scarves and throws and afghans I’ve made over the years – it was something I enjoyed.

I’d pick it up for a while, make one or a few things, then put it aside for long stretches of time. And because crocheting had started to irritate an old neck injury, when I last put it down a few years ago I wasn’t sure I would ever return to it.

But recently, after hearing a good friend discuss some crochet plans, I unexpectedly had the itch to crochet – even if all I did was make stitches without actually making a thing. It felt like it would be calming and meditative and helpful for me.

So I got out one of my crochet hooks, looked through my limited stash of old yarn, and gave it a go, simply making a long string of stitches.

Immediately, I realized my hunch had been right – it did feel calming and meditative and soothing. It gave me another distraction from worry and anxiety. It gave my hands something to do while I listened to an audio or had a show playing in the background.

Soon, I realized I wanted to do more than a long string of single stitches, and I switched tactics. Even though years had passed, it was like muscle-memory kicked in to start making a simple scarf…and I decided to start making a thing after all.

Needing to be mindful about doing my best to avoid irritating my neck, I crochet only for short bits of time and I don’t do it every day. I need to make sure crocheting doesn’t become a source of stress or tension, I need for it to remain a calming distraction, so I deliberately put absolutely no pressure on myself about how often I crochet or how it ends up.

I’m doing it for the doing of it. For the process. For the meditative and calming effect on me.

Just enjoying the feel of the yarn and the hook and the movement.

And if it actually ends up being a scarf that can be worn, that’s a bonus.

♥