8 Ways to be Less Anxious

20 years ago this month I was working in an office job in the pharmaceutical industry. It was incredibly stressful and despite 12 hour days I felt I couldn't keep on top of things. I was living in London and commuting three hours a day. I had very little time to exercise or get out into nature. Inevitably, I flipped out and the upshot is I became a self-employed cartoonist. 

Ever since that time, I've been prone to bouts of anxiety. This may surprise people who know me, but it is because I organise my life so that I don't have many situations that provoke anxiety. 

Recently I went on a trip to Melbourne and found myself feeling more anxious than usual. This inspired me to draw up some of the ways I had to handle it and sparked a miniseries, some of which I’ve put up before. I thought it would be good to collect them all here.

Here we go:

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People who read my newsletter will know that I plan every week. Being self-employed, it is easy for tasks to stretch to fill the time available, so unless I can allot time for those tasks, a lot of things will never get done. In this way I can make progress with personal projects (like the book I am working on now, Forget Kids - Get a Dog). I also try to make sure I complete projects ahead of deadlines to give myself some breathing space. And lists! I don’t know how people can deal with busy lives without lists.

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Friends are important. And I'm not talking about Facebook friends here. The wine helps too…

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I used to do a yoga class and the thing I liked best was the bit at the end where you lie down and focus on your breathing. Partly I enjoyed the meditative effect. Partly I was just happy that the yoga class was over.

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I find working in the garden incredibly calming. Except when I go out for 15 minutes and then realise an hour has gone by and I still haven't got any work done.

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We so miss Billie and though we get to borrow a dog every now and again I think we're ready to give another dog a permanent home.

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Whether it is creating art, or experiencing art.

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No matter the weather, walking by a beach (or in the Port Hills. or in a forest) always makes me feel better.

Earlier this year I spent a month without social media. I didn't post to Facebook, or Instagram, or twitter. I found it liberating and resisted coming back to it. Now many of my posts are automatic and I only interact with them when people comment. That said, if you think this post on how to reduce anxiety would be helpful to someone, please share it any way you see fit!

Living in New Zealand: The Lyttelton Timeball Drops Every Day at 1pm (Probably)

The timeball has been a landmark in Lyttelton for over 100 years. It was one of only two working timeballs in the world until the earthquakes destroyed it.

It was fantastic to see it restored and working again in 2018. Sensibly, only the tower was rebuilt. 

Lyttelton’s timeball in 2019 (Click to see options for using the image)

I have seen the timeball drop a couple of times, but just missed it dozens of times.

Lyttelton’s timeball station today

I'm glad that in 2006 it was one of the things I chose to draw as part of my Lyttel Lives series of line drawings (The Deluxe Cafe was erased by Coffee Culture, but the boyf's restaurant and St David’s Street steps’ benches were also victims of the earthquakes).

Reasons to Be Cheerful - Finding There Are a Lot of People Who Care

The boyf and I went to our first climate change march when we were in Melbourne. I doubt it will be my last.

Living in New Zealand: Slip Slap Slop Against the Sun's UV

Thanks to New Zealand’s latitude, its closeness to the sun in summer (a real thing, see here), its cleaner air and the lower ozone levels, the UV radiation from the sun is very strong in summer in this part of the world. There is a high incidence of skin cancer and it is common to have your moles checked (sometimes mapped) to catch any that might become a problem.

Though I grew up in England and didn’t even go abroad until I was 18 (a trip to France), or get on a plane until I was 20 (when I went to New Jersey for a year), I thought I should have my moles checked and went to a clinic in Christchurch. I love this graphic in the waiting room:

I had one suspect mole (1989 lying on the beach at Durdle Door on a windy day in summer?) and the doctor recommended it be taken out, so my doctor did (Molecheck charges $270 for the procedure and my GP charges $150).

The mole in question was very small

I’m now writing this with the mole gone leaving some stitches that will be taken out tomorrow. Hopefully, that’s it!

Update: it was an intradermal naevus - not malignant and no further treatment needed - phew!