coping strategies

The past couple weeks have been super stressful. This is almost entirely centered around two things: 1) putting a lot of pressure on myself to get all my fundraising done NOW, and 2) wanting to be involved in everything all the time. This amounts to a lot of complaining about things that I legitimately enjoy doing. Plan a party for a retiring minister. Yes! Plan a massive yard sale that keeps growing with thoughtful donations? Of course! Work on designing and adding content to the church website? Ooo, cool! Five more concerned friends offering fundraising ideas? Great.

But all of this together? The fun starts feeling like pressure. And as an introvert who shuts down in the face of stress rather than acts out, things usually look like this: Continue reading →

Sometime around 36 hours before my trip began, anxiety hit. Before then, when people asked if I was nervous about going to Athens, I could genuinely chuckle and say, “Nah. I’ve been there before. I know what I’m doing. It’s going to be intense but fun!” I don’t know what changed, but 36 hours ago, all my unacknowledged anxiety came rushing into consciousness.

This is it. This is the beginning of the next step in my life. I’m going to visit the city that will soon be my home. I’m going to hang out with the people who will soon be my coworkers and (hopefully) friends. What if I hate the city? What if everyone I meet hates me? What if I’ve made a terrible decision, but I can’t take it back because then I’d look ridiculous? What if I do back out but it’s a choice made out of fear and I miss out on an amazing opportunity? What if everything goes wrong and I trip on my face five times and no one speaks English and I sit alone in a corner the whole time?

Clearly action needed to be taken. Here are some tips (I may or may not have done) to cope with anxiety while in an airport: Continue reading →