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Chris's story

Chris is a local photographer who has decided to share his story with mental distress...thank you Chris! OccupationPhotographer Director of Photography, Documentary film maker. What type of mental distress have you experienced?Anxiety How old were you when you first experienced mental distress?  4 or 5 years old Did you know what it was at the time? No If not, how long was it until you knew it was anxiety?  Early 30's Do you have family members who also have anxiety? Yes How have ...

When molehills become mountains

If you have experienced anxiety you may find that you identify with this feeling of complete and utter overwhelm at tasks that seem small and insignificant, in the rational mind.  In a book I'm reading at the moment the author writes about how the character had recently had her first child, and her husband was returning to work. She had all of these things planned to do with her husband back at work - however found that the thought of getting on and doing these things was so overwhelming th...

Do you know your triggers?

Realising what my triggers are for anxiety has been so important for me to understand my anxiety and take control of it. Interestingly they have changed over the years. One of my triggers is food. This has been a trigger since my anxiety became severe after I ran the 12km round the bridges event a few years back. I can recall being at home after the event and trying to think of what I should cook to eat and refuel my body after running the event. A feeling of panic welled up in me and thoughts ...

Breathe

For many years I had heard about how breathing techniques and exercises could help manage anxiety, but had never really given it much thought let alone committed to trying it. I had kind of fobbed it off I guess. Thinking back, I guess it was learning yoga that started my understanding of how important the breath is. When I started yoga about 4 years ago I jumped straight into Ashtanga yoga which is based on synchronising the breath with yoga poses. At the time I had no idea what the different ...

My story with Anxiety

At 13 I don't think I had ever heard of anxiety, and I certainly hadn't given it much thought. I grew up in a loving family, what I think of as a typical Kiwi family in the 80's and 90's. Dad worked at the local pulp and paper mill, and mum was a stay at home mum, with a part time job a few hours a week so that she could be at home for us before and after school. Then mum got a new job when I was about 10. Before long she was being promoted and her hours started to change, yet she still made s...

The inspiration for Kamala...

A friend contacted me one day asking if we could catch up for a cuppa. Anxiety had let itself back into her life, and knowing that I too have had my battles she wanted to chat. We had a lovely catch up, although I was sad to hear her struggles with anxiety. I did what any good friend would do, listened and shared my own experiences and methods to deal with anxiety in the hope that I could help in some small way. It was after our catch up that I started to wonder if there was something more to ...