A birthday, an injury and a relay

It has been just over a week since my birthday and what a topsy turvy week it has been! I woke up on the morning of my 24th with an injured knee and some beautiful birthday messages rolling in. In the days since, I have had high moments, none involving painkillers, I promise, and some low ones, specifically when I was told I had ruptured my ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) and would need a knee reconstruction. 

My birthday was still great as I spent most of the day lying on the couch with an ice pack on my knee and lovely friends bringing me coffee, food, beautiful cards and hard drives filled with hilarious shows (watch The IT Crowd - don't ask questions, just do it). 

Snapchat from Teleisha and one of her boiz!

How to cope with anxiety

The twist and turns of life are mostly breathtaking and sometimes cruel. You may think you are on the road to having it all figured out when out of nowhere, you're blindsided by something you thought was in your control.

This year, my resolution was to be more mindful - to live in the moment and take each day anew. I started out okay but the last few months have proven to be the most challenging of my life and I have been feeling more anxious than ever. Anxiety is basically the opposite of mindfulness and rears it's ugly head in the form of constant over thinking, stressing and worrying over the daily grind to every possible future outcome. It's exhausting, but at the same time it's manageable. In the hope that this can be a comfort to other people going through similar problems, or even just having a bad day, I've listed a few things below that help me remain mindful and reduce my anxiety.