It's all me, me, me...

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Vivre Sa Vie
London, United Kingdom
Well hello there. My name is Viv (well, it's not really), and, like a lot of people, I'm ever so slightly neurotic... I have panic attacks and anxiety (ranging from mild to pretty intense), on and off. I also have an amazing and quite high-profile job, so I'm choosing to remain anonymous on here. Not because I'm ashamed of the aforementioned neuroses, but because I don't want to be googled and for my colleagues to read bizarre posts about me breathing into a paper bag and popping lorazepam. I've worked for bookshops, mixed arts festivals and charities, and have met (and still meet!) a lot of famous, fetching and fantabulous people for my job. (See, anxiety doesn't need to stop you being AWESOME and doing what you want to do) Here's hoping you'll find some helpful hints and tips on here which will help you tackle the evil panic heebiejeebs... PS. I'm an Australian, but I live in the UK, and have adopted tea-drinking, pubs, Wodehouse, and a Welsh man.
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Sunday 10 June 2012

A bad case of the mean reds...

Let's not kid ourselves - I don't think Audrey ate many croissants and full-fat lattes in her time...

Is there no end to the things that Breakfast at Tiffany's can teach us about life?

Apart from the fact that quaffing champagne before breakfast is perfectly decent and normal, and that you must never, ever give your heart to a wild thing, B at T also has important things to say about free-floating anxiety and panic.

Observe...

Holly 'You know those days when you get the mean reds?
Paul 'The mean reds, you mean like the blues?'
Holly 'No, the blues are because you're getting fat and maybe it's been raining too long, you're just sad, that's all. The mean reds are horrible. Suddenly you're afraid and you don't know what you're afraid of.'

Holly explains that for her, a trip to Tiffany's is the only thing that can shake off the mighty mean reds.

'Well, when I get it the only thing that does any good is to jump in a cab and go to Tiffany's. Calms me down right away. The quietness and the proud look of it; nothing very bad could happen to you there. If I could find a real-life place that'd make me feel like Tiffany's, then - then I'd buy some furniture and give the cat a name!'

Needless to say, Truman Capote suffered from severe anxiety (no-one who hasn't experienced it could have written that), and went to some pretty extreme measures to keep it in check.

Sadly, this isn't late-50s New York (and for me, it's not even 21st century New York, and I feel like heading to Harrods in the rain just wouldn't have the same effect), so what I want to know is - when you get a bad bout of the mean reds, what's your very own real-life Tiffany's? 

Oh, go on then, I'll have a chocolate covered danish. Seeing as how you twisted my arm.

4 comments:

Daniel Tysen said...

How about the British Museum? Or the galleries?
Admittedly I am a ridiculous nerd, and I realise few people get as much fun out of museums as me, but I always get a fuzzy feeling out of a place which is a) fun b) mentally enriching and c) Free. They WANT you to be there! You can stay all day if you like and not have to do anything except look at stuff. And play with the kids' exhibits.

Sometimes being intellectual feels like too much hard work on bad days. But sometimes it's the best thing.

Vivre Sa Vie said...

Daniel - you are speaking my language. I also am a huge museum geek, but had never, ever thought of them as being a good anxiety kind of place (labyrinthine corridors with no easy exits etc), but this makes me think twice. I'll have a go! If you see a woman with red lipstick alternately going 'ooooh, look' and hyperventilating, you'll know it's me, so come up and say hi! V x

Vivre Sa Vie said...

Also, I just thought; it's probably distracting in the best sort of way to get out of one's own head, and look at the daring exploits/beautiful creations/horrific artefacts of thousands of years worth of people - looking at a bloodstained ironmaiden would certainly would put some kind of perspective on one's current problems and worries :).

Anonymous said...

Good day! This post couldn't be written any better! Reading through this post reminds me of my old room mate! He always kept chatting about this. I will forward this post to him. Fairly certain he will have a good read. Thanks for sharing!

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