7 Things boat life taught me about anxiety (PART 1)

​Before I launch in just thought I’d do a little recap. Back in 2016 I was in a high-pressure job working in children’s critical care as a fairly new physio. Essentially, I burnt out and ‘quit’ life. Literally quit my job and four weeks later I was on a plane overseas with no plan and very little saved. I found my way onto the sailing yacht, Indigo, ‘piggy backing’ off someone else’s qualifications and signing up to cross an ocean. I hadn’t been on a boat for longer than 4hours at a time let alone know how to sail. So, there I was on the other side of the world in an industry where I was a complete novice. How do you think my anxiety was? Well here I am sharing some incidentals I learnt about anxiety so you don’t have to do something crazy, like living out at sea for 25 days to learn!

 1. Identity plays a large role in keeping anxiety at bay:

• Before I left if anyone had asked me, “Tell me about yourself?” or “Who are you?” I would say…I’m a physiotherapist. I do aerials. I live on the Gold Coast etc. Now put yourself in the middle of the ocean. I’m no longer a physio, I can’t do aerials and I don’t live on the GC. I am the least experienced person on this boat. I have no career. I have no address etc.
• It made me realise I defined myself by things I did not who I am. My self worth was based on achievement not being a human.
• So ask yourself what are your defining qualities? No matter whether you lose your job, change your address or get an illness/injury you still know who you are and the anxious voice in your head is kept at bay.

 
2. Technology is both a help and a hindrance when it comes to anxiety:

• How does it help? Well it’s a perfect distraction from those pesky thoughts in your head. The voices get quieter when you can mindlessly scroll on Instagram or watch Netflix. Don’t get me wrong we had hard drives full of tv shows and movies but that only lasts so long…
• So now you’ve watched all the movies on offer and those thoughts become louder. Not having access to news and current events was calming but personally, my anxiety got much worse the more I was left with my thoughts. However, truly hearing the state of my mind was a gift hard to receive still on the hamster wheel of full-time work.
• Because of all this time/space I was able to journal a lot to get a clear picture, a starting point for how to improve it and read some great books about mind space.
• Try writing down all your thoughts when you are in a think, feel, spiral or replace one episode of your latest Netflix binge for a self-help podcast or book.

3. Routine is the antidote to anxiety:

• As you may have gathered my tendency is toward spontaneity and growing up in a fairly structured home meant rebelling from routine when I moved out.
• However, if you define yourself through achievements not qualities routine can be very anchoring.
• I learnt that having a group of things I would like to start my day with gave me the flexibility I craved to pick and choose whilst also giving me an anchor to every day in a situation where certainty is just not a thing.
• Minds like certainty that’s why change is so difficult. Take the fear away and write a list of all the things that make you feel good. Mine were exercise, meditation, cooking (more on that later), reading, yoga and writing. Pick 1-3 that you start every day with.

​To be continued...

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