• captainlezbian@lemmy.world
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    4 hours ago

    No judgment, but you need to do some exposure therapy on separation. I know it’s hard and scary but it’s what works. I cried my first night living away from home, and fuck knows I wasn’t healthy when I lived in dorms, but it helped build independence. And I’m not saying “move out now”, I’m saying make a plan to spend a small amount of time away from your mom, do something, and you keep doing that until it’s no longer scary and then you do something more.

    Also look up some anxiety management techniques, and start practicing some that seem relevant. I’m personally prone to catastrophizing and so for me figuring out the worst realistic scenario and planning for that helps calm me down by forcing me to actually reject unrealistic worries and reframe the situation as something where I can probably handle it if things go wrong. Breathing techniques and grounding techniques have done wonders for dealing with the physical experience of anxiety. I’ve also found exercise to be helpful, taking a walk and just chatting to myself about my feelings in my head is amazing, but if you can do something more strenuous like running, biking, push ups, or lifting that’s also awesome.

    One step at a time, small, but consistent. The most important step a person can take is the next one. It’s ok to fail, but you get back up and try again. Getting out of this is a marathon not a sprint. You seem to really hate being in this position, and that’s fair, but you today can start the process that eventually will get you out of it.

    I personally have found a “no zero days” philosophy to be extremely helpful for my goals. The way it works is every day you do something to advance a goal you have, even if it’s very little. When I was getting into shape that meant even on days I wasn’t running a calorie deficit I still did some bodyweight exercises, and if I forgot to exercise at all until bedtime I’d accept staying up a bit late to do a few push ups, just to ensure the habits stuck. For you that could mean even if you don’t have the energy to do anything you spend a few minutes meditating or doing a breathing exercise. But the low days should be accompanied by days with more effort, where you push yourself into the growth zone.

    You can do this.