The Anxiety of Cement
It’s been a strange week.
I haven’t been out of the house for five days, and like all of us, I’m going a bit stir crazy.
Part of the reason for my shut-in status is that the city of Anaheim has decided that we should have better sidewalks and driveways on our street. Construction has started, parking is impossible and we are not allowed to use our driveways either, as they will be laying cement across the bottom of everyone’s property.
So, this morning I had had enough. I decided to get up and get out of my house as early as possible to run some meaningless errands, breathe in some fresh smoke-filled California air and drive on the open highway with my favorite podcast blasting.
Just as I was leaving, with keys in hand, I could see that they had begun to lay cement in my driveway. Shit! No way out for the rest of the day. Looks like I’m commissioned to be trapped at home watching cement dry. Which, of course, is a metaphor for being stuck and staying in one place. Don’t you love it when your surroundings mirror your circumstances?
My anxiety level skyrocketed from a 7 to about 100. HELLO ANXIETY! My dear old friend.
A particularly anxiety producing thing for me is the feeling of being trapped. The best way I can describe it to you is that it is much like having a bunch of knives poking me from the inside as the discomfort moves into my neck, into my head and into my thinking process. The buzz of anxiety is not a comfortable one.
As a super creative, I have a bunch of tool box emotions just below the surface that are really handy when creating beautiful music or wildly wonderful paintings. But as far as life goes, when these emotions sneak up on you, they can cause havoc in everyday life.
The first thing I automatically do when I think I feel anxious, is to acknowledge that I indeed, really and honestly DO feel anxious. Awareness is the 1st step toward understanding.
Check.
Next, I come into my breath. You might try this now and take a deep, slow breath. You’ll find it to be immediately calming, even if you aren’t stressing. When feeling anxious, I do a lot of this. Take 10 deep breaths, dropping your shoulders while you inhale. This seems to start the process of lessening anxious feelings.
Check.
Next. Some distracting activity is needed.
How about I write a blog about being anxious? Okay, that’s a good idea.
Perfect.
Psychologists have identified about six different anxiety disorders for human beings, ranging from PTSD and OCD to social anxiety disorder and panic attacks. And the intensity of these anxious disorders can either feel manageable or completely out of control. Recognizing where you personally sit on the intensity scale for anxiety is an important thing to know. You may want to reach out to someone to talk to and/or do some serious google research about your specific brand of anxiety, once you identify when, how and where it occurs in your life.
Okay, it’s about an hour later since I started writing and breathing and I feel a bit better now.
During this historic time in our world, strive to develop some strategy for coping with sneaky, unruly emotions that push their way to the surface - anger, sadness, frustration, grief. Artists are particularly susceptible to a constant swing of emotional challenges. An overall coping strategy is highly recommended.
The calling is strong for all of us to work on the inside now – spiritually, psychologically and emotionally - so that we will be able to survive and thrive when we emerge into a whole new world later on.
Dear Artists,
Keep your chin up!
Do your inside work and sleep a lot, if you need to.
Do your best to recognize positive and negative emotions as they arise each day.
Be kind to yourself and others around you.
Emotionally let go of negative people. They are simply not worth the energy.
Stay in the center of the hurricane where it is calm and focused.
Cope by finding those things that make you feel good.
Become the observer. Step back and recognize the beauty around you.
Don’t forget to breathe often
It’s all going to be okay.
We will survive this together.
Here’s an October music playlist to increase your mood. Enjoy!
Try this short 10 minute mediation each morning to help ease anxiety. It’s a good one.
As always, Peace, Love and Music
Lisa
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Lisa M. Arreguin is a songwriter, recording artist, a mentor for artists and a speaker. She holds a master’s degree in psychology from Cal State Los Angeles and has founded several companies including Love and Laughter Music Group (LLC) and Living Crazybrave. She is the author of “The Crazybrave Songwriter: A Spiritual Guide to Creative Songwriting” and runs e-courses focusing on the growth of musicians and creative artists. Lisa has written hundreds of songs, recorded her own album and has had many song placements on TV and in film.