managing anxiety and panic attacks through writing
With dominique rossi
For episode 18 of small steps to self-love, I was joined by poet Dominique Rossi. We dove into mental health and using writing and poetry to help manage anxiety. You can find Dominque’s poetry collection, Salt Chorus, here! And make sure to tune into the episode to hear her read two of her poems!
This episode
In this episode, dominique and i discussed what it was like for her to grow up with anxiety and panic attacks, and OCD. she explained that between therapy and medications, she also turned to writing, a place she could “cage intrusive thoughts and cope” and that seeing everything laid out on the page would sometimes show her that the matter at hand was not as big as she thought, making it easier to overcome.
In Dominique’s book, Salt Chorus, she writes about inheritance, not only of family background, but mental health issues and intergenerational trauma as well. She continues to write poetry as an outlet, and specifically decided to publish this collection so that her words could reach others who may need them, as a way to show people struggling that they are not alone.
i then asked Dominique, “what would you give them as a recommendation or a tip for getting started?” Here’s a few of her tips!
Write for yourself and from a place of no judgment
Just let the words flow, pour everything out
Don’t worry about the outcome and what it will look like
Read poetry!
Small step
Every episode, I give you a small step that you can take in your self-love journey. This week’s small step is inspired by one of Dominique’s poems where she goes through the steps of using a common grounding technique that can help during panic attacks: finding three things you can see, touch, hear, smell, taste.
As our small step, write down or think about 3 beautiful moments today or this week, or maybe something you're seeing or hearing or touching that grounds you and makes you maybe appreciate your day. If you’d like, maybe write a poem of your own about these moments!
Where to listen
You can tune into this episode on your favorite podcast site, or by visiting one of the links below!
Thank you for tuning into another episode of the small steps to self-love podcast! I hope you have a wonderful week filled with self-love and kindness and compassion!