Skip to main content

The Anxiety Hole


I was always his favourite niece growing up. I used to sit on his lap with joy and excitement everytime he will visit my mum, his sister.

He will always buy me scented flowers decorated in a little pot. He will tell me to put one flower in my hair and place the rest of them beside the window facing his room so at night, before he sleeps, with just one look, he can think of how beautiful I am.
I did as he instructed without fail everytime until I was 16.
On my 16th birthday, everybody gave me a gift. My favourite uncle this time said he was going to show me something special before he gives me the gift.
I was raped forcefully like a sex slave by my dear uncle on the same night of my 16th birthday.
I couldn't tell my parents, I couldn't confide in my siblings for I was ashamed, sad and didn't know who to trust with this abominable secret. My uncle threatened to kill me with JuJu if I ever mentioned this to anyone. So I didn't.
Today, I am a full grown woman, married to a gentle soul of a man. I cannot pleasure him as a woman sexually as required of me by marriage.
Because I feel scared, very afraid and react violently anytime he tries to touch me.
Anxiety is real... Fear from dreadful past trauma is real too. This is my story. What is yours?


*On Anxiety*

Anxiety is a common emotion characterized by feelings of tension, worried thoughts and physical changes like increased blood pressure. If left untreated, anxiety can be crippling. It can lead to lightheadedness, nausea, headaches, stomach pains, panic attacks and more.
Therapy, medication or a combination of the two are vital if anxiety is inhibiting your daily life. And for a quick fix, experts say relaxation techniques like mantras can help.

An anxiety disorder is an acute form of anxiety and a serious medical condition.

Anxiety can also manifest  (show) itself as fear, restlessness, getting easily irritated, an inability to sleep or focus. Other symptoms include stuttering, sweating, finding it hard to talk to others, and feeling of being constantly judged.
Anxiety can also appear as a panic attack, or even a generalized anxiety disorder, in which one keeps on worrying and dreading the future.Left untreated, anxiety can lead to depression, early death, and suicide.


*How to Handle Anxiety* :

• Curb (control)  your sugar, alcohol and caffeine consumption.

• Calm yourself by deep breathing and refocusing on your body parts.

• Distract yourself by listening to music or a little exercise.

Stress, worry and anxiety can be helped by regular exercise, a nutritious diet and an ample amount of sleep.

*Source of anxiety*

Constant uncertainty.There is no promise that investments will go up in the future.What you can do:
• You can measure something. The act of measurement takes an unknown quantity and makes it known. You can't know for certain how much money you will have in retirement, but you can remove some uncertainty from the situation by measuring how much you save each month.

• Shift Your Worry from the long-term problem to a daily routine that both rewards you right away (immediate return) and resolves your future problems (delayed return).Insteadof worrying about living longer, focus on taking a walk each day.

*Tackling Your Anxiety*

• Reach out to a mental health professional, even if you can’t meet with them in person.

• Reframe the virus outbreak by temporal distancing, or by focusing your attention on a longer timescale.

• Try putting the outbreak in historical context (there have been many pandemics during our history).

• Limit how much information you consume about the new virus outbreak. Find the right balance between being informed and being overwhelmed.

Please if you know anyone battling with anxiety or anxiety disorder, let this article remind you today to help him or her.

Together we are going to win this fight.


Kwame Sarpong

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Paradox of Our Times

*THE PARADOX OF OUR TIMES* Is that we have taller buildings, but shorter tempers Wider freeways and roads but smaller viewpoints We spend more, but we have less. We have bigger houses, but smaller families More conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees, but less sense More knowledge, but less judgement More experts, but more problems More medicines, but less healthy lives We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too little and hate too often We have learnt how to make a living, but not how to make a life. We have added years to life, but not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back But have trouble crossing the street to meet or greet the new neighbour. We have conquered outer space, but not our inner hearts We've cleaned up the air in our environment  but destroyed our souls. We claim to love all people but quick to show our prejudice We've higher incomes, but lower morals. We'v...
Post a Comment
Read more

Support Small Business Owner Friends And Family To Grow

To all my self-employed, small business owner friends and family,  this article is dedicated to us!!!! Rihanna releases a lip gloss, people buy it.  Michael Jordan puts out new trainers in stores, people flock to these stores to buy them instantly. Dr. Dre  has new headphones, people buy it. Oprah Winfrey, the richest black woman in the world introduces a new weight loss and diet control program, people jump on board and flow with it. Beyoncé has a new concert, people queue in line to go spend £250 on a ticket just to watch her performance. A friend or family member of ours starts a business, and soon we become weary.  We say things like "Not sure this is going to work"  "This business you are starting is not going to go anywhere, I'll give you only 6 months, it will collapse to the ground"  " this your product is too expensive, you will be out of business in no time if you don't reduce your prices" Those of you, putting out negative comments...
Post a Comment
Read more

USA And The Western World is Against Polygamy.. Our Ghana Law is Against LGBT Rights. Will They Allow To Set Up a Polygamy Office In Their Country??

On June 26 2015, the US supreme court struck down all state laws banning same - sex marriages and legalised in all the fifty states across America. I remember that day, pretty well watching CNN seeing then host taking the live feed Anderson Cooper in a jubilant mood. Pictures from the supreme court also painted the same picture. Men kissing men passionately, and women kissing women passionately and locking tongues as well. All this outside the US supreme court for the whole country and the whole world to see that the United States of America, the greatest free country on earth is now fully endorsing gay marriage and approving LGBT rights. The gay pride parade was insane, trust me. A few months later, some European Union countries also joined in and legalised it unanimously. I could recall on that evening I called up one of my Brazilian friends, a woman who had always been a strong advocate and a strong supporter of LGBT rights to pick her mind on what had just happened in the US. ...
Post a Comment
Read more