For someone living with an anxiety disorder, comfy clothes, comfy schedules, and contingency plans are everything. I'm sure that if you've dealt with anxiety, you understand how critical being comfortable and well prepared is to keeping your sanity on a daily basis. If you don't deal with anxiety, the below is going to sound crazy. Bear with me here...
Anxiety has taught me to enjoy the reliability of a schedule. Get up at 6:15 a.m. after four set-and-snoozed alarms starting at 5:55 a.m. Start coffee pot at 6:17 a.m. Shower until 6:27 a.m. Pour coffee at 6:30 a.m. Blog until 7:00 a.m. Blow-dry hair. Do makeup. Get dressed. Leave apartment at 7:28 a.m. Arrive at work at 7:53 a.m. With a schedule there isn't last minute rushing, there are no late days, there are no too-many-snoozed alarms. I don't leave the house with cold, wet hair and I always have time to iron. There is comfort in the predictability. And schedules present just one less daily stressor.
I've also come to rely on being prepared. I walk to work and the weather is ever-changing and the office temperature is always cold. I always carry with me a: rain jacket, umbrella, pair of socks. I keep a pair of heels at my desk and wear my comfy Sperry rainboots in to work for convenient puddle splashing. I also like to layer: camisole, button down or sweater, blazer or cardigan, fleece. Today, my sweater was giving me the itchies, so luckily, I'd worn a pretty cardigan underneath and was able to swap sweater out for fleece and stop freaking out about itching.
Being warm and feeling comfy also plays a huge part in dealing with anxious spells. I'm sure you've all seen people tug at their collars in stressful movie situations and I think that though it's become a trope, there's a lot of truth to it. When we're stressed, hot, uncomfortable, our clothes can feel like a trap. The outfit I wore today symbolizes the perfect mixture of comfy and classy to me. This jersey dress moves and is super soft on the skin. The cardigan is warm and slouchy for days when feeling dressed up is difficult. The boots are scuffing boots, perfect for shuffling along and not needing to worry about the height of a heel or a sore arch. It's hard to feel bothered when you're surrounded in happy, soft material.
(One day I am going to post photos of myself in various blankets around the house because everyone knows burrito-ing yourself in covers makes the best defense of all!)
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