This month’s DAS podcast is all about anxiety and whether it is part and parcel of modern life. We talk about the varying levels; as of course this can be as mild as it can be severe. How do our lifestyles affect our own anxiety? How do we deal with the stress of the modern world? Led by Caroline, this was a recording that left me feeling like I’d really gotten something off my chest. I felt like I’d shared some secrets, the sorts of secrets that don’t do you any good to bottle up.

It’s something that I know I suffer with but something I don’t often talk about in frank terms. As anyone who reads my blog will know my mother suffers from quite severe mental health problems and for me the hardest part is always admitting there is something wrong with me. When you spend your life looking out for someone with a life changing aliment you tend to brush your own much more minor (see I’m doing it again) things under the carpet. You think; I haven’t been sectioned or I’m not on medication so it can’t be that bad right?

For me anxiety is something I’ve always thought was a given in my life, I was a nervous child who became a nervous adult. I blush, I comfort eat, I count steps, I sweat too much, I panic when I go into new situations with new people and actually I’m not that unusual. 1 in 10 of us are likely to be disabled by an anxiety disorder at some point in our lives.

None of this makes me too sensitive or bad or wrong. And I think for me it’s important to remember that. Being mindful of your mental health is so important; understand how common it is but also letting yourself off for how difficult it can be as well. We all have a mental health, it’s not just reserved for people like my mum, we have to look after our minds in the same way we look after our bodies because they work together.

Send us a tweet to @DAS_podcast or comment on our facebook page. We’d love to know what you think.

Listen to the complete podcast here: