Fighting Anxiety

This week has flown by. Dom and Faith are on their school holidays. So my week has consisted of playing board games, dog walks, icecream, watching tv and arts. 

This week has seen anxiety rear its ugly head. There has been no trigger for this. I have felt really uncomfortable around people. Up until the end of this week, the gym was contributing to my high anxiety levels. Classes were unenjoyable and I was clock watching. Part of me wanted to stop going the gym as my anxiety was so unbearable. But another part of me had concerns that I would stop going entirely. I am glad that I continued to go. Last night I had a personal training session. It was really enjoyable. We did boxing and focused on wrist strengthening exercises. My wrists hurt when doing exercises when I am putting pressure on them. I managed to deadlift 45kg which I was pleased with. If you would like to see a video of me doing clean and press with a strong man log then click here.

I went the gym this morning. Although I am sore from last night, I noticed an improvement in my stamina and strength. I increased my weights during bodypump and I was proud of myself.
Tomorrow we are taking Walter on a dachshund walk. I am so excited! We have wanted to meet up with the group for months. But we have been unable to go because of other commitments or the weather. I will make sure to take lots of photos. 

I was going to do a post about autism awareness. April is autism awareness month. But, I had already done a post for Defying Shadows on this topic. It has been uploaded today so if you want to have a read of it the link to it is here.

Defying Shadows

Things have picked up for me as the week has gone on. It feels as if this week has gone really quickly, which has helped me get back into my usual routine. 

I have managed to go the gym again since Monday night. I did an abs class on Tuesday, Body Sculpt on Thursday and Boxing on Friday. As I was the only person booked on to the Fight Club class, I did a 1:1 boxing session for half an hour. It was thoroughly enjoyable! I did some punching on a punch bag for the first time. I’m tempted to invest in some boxing gloves now for the days when I want to exercise but don’t want to go to a class at the gym. 

I had an appointment with my GP on Thursday morning. It went well. My GP said that I looked a lot better compared to my last few appointments. I have the option of increasing my dosage if I feel it necessary. At the moment, I feel that my medication is helping to keep me on an even level the majority of the time. I don’t need to change it or increase the dosage. 

We took Walter to the vets this morning. His behaviour has changed over Christmas. Normally, he loves seeing other dogs when out on walks. Lately, he has been reluctant to do so and at times actively trying to get away from other dogs. Walter went over to the dogs he saw at the vets and seemed his usual self. The vet was happy with him. She cleaned his ears and checked his weight. It could have been the lack of his usual routine over Christmas that caused the change in his behaviour. Dave and I are going to take him for a big walk tomorrow. We haven’t been able to take him out today. It’s rained virtually all day. 

I am pleased to announce that I am now part of the team that blogs at Defying Shadows. I am looking forward to the opportunity to share my experiences, thoughts and ideas as a member of the Defying Shadows team. 

Glimmer of light

After three bad days in a row, things are improving. 

After a poor night’s sleep, followed by an early get up for work, it is quite common for me to struggle that day. But today, I have surprised myself. 

I managed to go to the gym. I was offered a free personal training session with one of the new trainers. It went really well. I asked if we could do some boxing which was the main focus of the session. I also did some weights and core work. It helped that the trainer seems like a nice guy. Fingers crossed that I will be in the right frame of mind to finally try the Fight Club class at the gym. 

I am feeling really tired but my mood is nowhere near as low. I hope this means that I will sleep well tonight. 

After a busy weekend last week, I am looking forward to a quiet weekend. Walter has been super cuddly these past few days. Here he is having an afternoon nap: