Lorraines Story - WHAT IF?!

One of the things as an anxiety sufferer I struggle with is getting sucked in to a viscous cycle of worrying, the endless what if’s. What if I faint, what if I panic, what if I make a fool of myself. I've always been a bit of a worrier but I guess it got worse when I’d had my first baby, all of a sudden I didn't just have me to worry about, and the world of what if’s got even bigger. I would sometimes tell my what ifs to my partner, he never looked at me like I had 2 heads he would just try to reassure me that the chances of my worries actually coming true were really small, but when you’re anxious even a small chance of something happening is a worry. At times my what if’s were probably really quite frustrating for my partner, what if my headache is a brain tumour, what if we have a car crash, what if the world ends, how could he possibly answer these questions to a point that I’d be happy. So this was my life for about 4 years, a really emotionally draining and tiring 4 years, I realise not just for me but for the people around me. So how does a worrier survive in a world where there are no certainties, I've had to learn to be ok with the fact that I just can’t have control over everything , I have to stop being intolerant of uncertainty. All of this was a whole lot easier said than done, it didn't happen overnight, there’s no magic wand and I've had to learn techniques that I’ll probably always have to use. The one thing I have found out is that with anxiety it’s not a case of one treatment fixes everyone, I've had CBT in different formats with different people and it’s only now that I can look back and see how far I've come. For a long time I was really sceptical about CBT, I thought that I was just too stubborn and stuck in my ways to change my ways of thinking. The first and probably most helpful thing for me was identifying some of my behaviours and the worst behaviour for me was seeking reassurance. I’d seek reassurance in a few different ways, asking my partner, asking my mum and visiting good old Dr Google. As soon as I figured out I seek a lot of reassurance then I needed to be aware of how many times I was doing it. Something that helped me do this was practising mindfulness and learning to live in the now and not let my mind wander. So now that I know I shouldn't be asking for reassurance I stop myself, when I have picked my phone up to Google something I'm worried about I ask myself do I really need to do this, will I get an answer that will make me happy? Or if I am about to ask someone for reassurance I ask myself what would I say to someone if they were asking me for reassurance. These techniques have helped me massively and it helps me feel a bit more in control of my worrying.

Why TEAM REB

I created team reb with the objective of helping raise awareness of mental health problems. The page has been up and running for a few weeks now and the response and support has been amazing. It has been a true eye opener to be in contact with so many people that are living with mental health illnesses. Treatments for mental health problems vary from person to person, but I have found that talking is one of the best forms of treatment. This page has allowed me and hopefully other people to speak up and be advocates about mental health illnesses. Although I am not in a position to provide adequate help to anyone suffering from a mental illness, I can only hope that this page gives somebody the strength and courage to speak up to perhaps get treatment or just to tell somebody that this is what they are living with. It is difficult enough being diagnosed with an illness but the added pressures that come along with mental health can be equally as challenging. Many of you reading this might understand what its like to suffer from a mental health problem. You might understand what I mean when I speak about the terrifying, paralyzing feelings that suffocate your mind. However when you add onto this the stigma that surrounds mental health it can be almost impossible to reach out to a family member/ friend or a doctor for help. I hope that TEAM REB becomes a source of inspiration in taking that first step for someone to get educated about mental health or provide support for someone or even taking a bigger step towards getting diagnosed and treated.

Please keep sharing the page and helping raise awareness.

Many thanks, TEAM REB

WRISTBANDS

Hey Guys!

Team Reb Wristbands

We would just like to thank all the people who have been interested in the wristbands and have already requested for them!
If you would like a free wristband then please feel free to contact us with your information and we shall get one sent out to you straight away!

Thankyou for helping us raise awareness of Mental Health!

Sarah Worthington supporting a great cause! 

Welcome!

I am quite new to blogs and having just started the TEAM REB project I thought it would only be logical to start writing about the goings on and other related topics to the business and mental health. The TEAM REB project, talking and encouraging awareness of mental health was set up July 2014. The primary aim of TEAM REB is to help raise awareness of mental health problems. 1 in 4 of us will suffer with a mental health problem this year, that statistic is terrifying. Having being diagnosed myself with depression and anxiety I understand the difficulties related to this topic, which makes me want to do something to ensure everyone else that experiences a mental illness gets the help and support they deserve. The focus of the project is improving awareness whether its through creating products or offering information, advice and guidance to anyone needing it.

The products we hope to start producing will include a clothing line and various accessories. The products will include the TEAM REB logo design and some diverse and inspiring quotes. We already have wristbands available to give out (see facebook page)! The TEAM REB logo includes two wolves, which I will explain why; whilst searching the web we came across an old Cherokee tale..  -One evening, a grandfather told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.

He said “my son, the battle is between two ‘wolves’ inside us all.

One is evil. it is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. The other is good. it is joy, peace love, hope serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.”

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: ”which wolf wins?…” the grandfather simply replied, 

”the one that you feed.”

And so that is why we decided on two wolves!

Thank you to very one that has supported the page so far. It’s still in its early days so make sure you stay tuned!

Much love,

Rebecca.