Trauma, activated nervous system and mindfulness practice
Hi
I’ve had a few difficulties in the past year - health, work stress, family - and I’ve become half a person. Work terrifies me (I work in mental health) and I’m struggling to adjust to what used to be quite manageable for me. It doesn’t help that my manager isn’t as supportive as I thought she was.
How do I manage my activated nervous system? I just constantly feel unsafe and incapable to manage. It’s mainly triggered by work, external pressure and also unfamiliar situations or being away from family.
I wasn’t like this before. Before, I could handle what came my way, yes it would give me nervousness or anxiety but I overcame it. Now it’s hard to do that, this anxiety feels debilitating and overpowering.
Has anyone experienced this? How did they overcome this? Is there a mindfulness practice I can do?
For context - I am receiving therapy for trauma and I can see this being beneficial however it feels like it will be a long process. I would love to be away from my job for as long as I am in therapy but this is not possible financially.
I’d be grateful for any advice.