What spotting bluebells can tell us about anxiety

Bluebells and Anxiety. Help with anxiety. Outdoor Therapy. Grief Therapy. Burton Therapist.

I’m pretty obsessed with bluebells these days. I love them. They’re so delicate and purple and they’re so unassuming – they just quietly start blooming each year without a big fanfare. There’s something about only being able to see that for a short time each year that makes them feel special. And something reassuring in the way they return every year, letting us know that the joys of summer and sunshine are on their way.

Back when I was a teacher, I rarely noticed them. I was too focused on work, on getting through the day in survival mode, to really ever notice any changes in season except for getting to travel to work and back in daylight and knowing when the holidays were. However now I know when to spot them and am actively looking out for them, I feel like I’m seeing bluebells everywhere! Our brain decides to a certain extent what we notice – it filters all of the information that we are receiving at any one moment and decides what might be useful to us. Try it right now – look around for all of the green things that you can see. Once you start looking, I bet you spot way more than you usually notice.

The more I look out for bluebells, the more I spot them - just like the more I look out for danger the more I will spot it @Jules Lowe Counselling

The same goes for anxiety. When our anxiety is being particularly loud, we can often see potential dangers everywhere. This is because anxiety is the emotion that tries to protect us. It tries to predict the future by trying to spot any potential dangers so that can try to avoid them. The more you actively look for potential dangers, the more you’ll see them, just like the bluebells. But unlike the bluebells, this will add to the feeling of fear that there are dangers all around you, and will lead you to want to continue to be on high alert and actively look for further danger.

So what can we do?

Taking a moment to stop and carefully look at a bluebell in all its glory can also be grounding @Jules Lowe Counselling

Well, firstly I offer it’s worth being compassionate to ourselves do why we are doing this. Out brain is trying to protect us by predicting what might put us in danger. Not only is this a natural human response – our brains just want to keep us safe so that we survive – but if we’ve felt in danger in the past we are more likely to be on high alert now. Anxiety often needs reassurance. Decide if you are safe in the here and now. If you are not, please do seek support to get yourself out of the unsafe situation, whatever it is. But if what is worrying you is because of something that has happened in the past, or something that you’re worried might happen in the future, take a pause and remind yourself that you are safe in the present moment. Grounding techniques - such as naming 5 things we can see, 4 things you can touch, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell and 1 thing you can taste – can help. In the longer term, talking to a counsellor can help make sense of why you might be feeling on high alert, and help your brain to process what it might be carrying.

It may also be worth remembering that we can decide what we tell our brains to focus on. Like a torch, we can choose what we shine a light on and focus on. This doesn’t mean ignoring dangers – we still want to keep safe – and it doesn’t mean we ignore our anxious thoughts – the more we ignore them the more they tend to make themselves known! However, we can also make an effort to notice the ways that we are safe too. The more we start looking for glimmers and joy in the world (or in my case bluebells), the more we will notice them. It’s an “and” not an “or”, but a change in what we choose to focus on can help reassure ourselves that we can handle whatever comes our way, the scary and the wonderful.