Racing for a Train! Who knew how tiring Stress / Anxiety can be?

Racing for a train

I don't often go into 'The City' anymore but yesterday was one of those days.  I had planned my journey around the other things I had to complete in the morning to get on the train that got me to London with a good amount of time to spare to get to my appointment in time.

Normally things would just go to plan but this was not one of those days.

Firstly, their was the train strike but that was okay as I had worked out the other locations I could travel from and the times.  

Next, one of my appointments in the morning finished about 50 minutes late. This was the start.  So as I was sitting their looking at the clock on the wall I started to think that I wasn't going to make it, that I would have to drive really fast, that I didn't know what ticket I would need, which platform would the train leave from, would I make it!  

I was outwardly very calm.  I didn't speed excessively, if at all, and I didn't drive dangerously, I hope.  I coped with the ticket machine not doing as I wanted, just buying any ticket to get me to London. I made it through the barrier.  I was able to run up the stairs, over the bridge, down more stairs to the platform and get on the train with 30 seconds to spare before the doors closed. 

Okay I made it.

I would get to my London appointment on time.  My heart stopped racing and I calmed down (getting my breath back), sitting back in my seat letting the train take me to London.  But I was completely drained and felt really tired.  I had that heavy feeling come over me and all I wanted to do was go to sleep. 

Wow, I never used to feel like this.

In a previous work life I raced for trains every day but because I still had to get through my work day to drive the business forward and then do it again the next day I didn't give myself the opportunity to come down from the heightened level of anxiety I experienced every day (train or no train).  When I finished that job it took about 8 months for that 'drained', tired feeling to leave me, those chemicals that had built up in my body get back to a normal level.  

Now think about that with kids who are anxious about going to school every day.

They experience this heightened level of emotion every day and it might present itself as feeling sick in the tummy, it might be that they scream and shout, it might be that they cry and cry.  Whatever it is, they are in that state every day and they don't have the time to come down again because when they wake the next day it starts all over again.  

As an adult I chose to do what I did.  Our kids don't get that choice with school.  So we need to help them understand what it is that is making them anxious, how that makes them feel and what's the root emotion. If we can work with that root emotion to change how they feel then they won't be as 'anxious', they won't be in that heighten state, they won't be as 'drained'.  

Get in touch to find out more about working with an Ollie Coach.  info@ollieandhissuperpowers.com