[akame,]

res

[SilentMelody]

username: silentmelody || kalon name: lyla || gender: demigirl

when it seems as if the weight of the world is falling onto lyla, she takes a deep breath and forces herself to lift that weight -- literally.

lyla is a professional weight lifter and was first introduced to it in her sophomore year of high school. after suffering from anxiety and depression for so long and trying to find a way to rid herself of the stress, she enrolled in a weight training class. the teacher taught and coached her on everything there is to know about lifting weights. at the time, lyla was very thin and twig-like, but she quickly bulked up. soon enough, she became the best of the class. after entering and training hard for a competition, she became the best in the state. trophies line her wall and remind her of a reason to get out of bed each day. so many friends support her and cheer her on at competitions no matter what.

it's hard to explain how lifting weights makes her feel -- all of the mechanisms fascinate her. the deep breath she inhales before bracing herself to lift. the muscles inside her body working to push those weights off the ground. the knuckles of her hands turning white as she clutches onto the bar and hefts it into the air. and finally, when she holds the bar above her as she's standing tall and triumphant. that's the best feeling.

[Tatzel]

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username: sooshy
name: robin
gender: demigirl

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[slushy puppy]

mark

[Kurai.]

res

[Coco Bunny]

username: Coco Bunny
kalon name: Blu
how they deal with anxiety [500 word limit]: Sometimes, Blu's anxiety is like a small firefly, hovering just above his shoulder. It's a little friend, warning him not to do that, wondering what might happen if he does that, that sort of stuff. It's not too uncomfortable, and something that being around his friends - who all happen to be introverts too, go figure! - can be ignored. However, on the bad days, the dark days, it's like a bear. It crushes him, squeezes all the life out of his chest until he can't breath, and threatens to never leave him. During this time, he needs his friends to distract him, either with some scientific nonsense or playing a simple little game. But, when Blu cannot get his friends, and he's suffering alone, he holds a little dragon toy close to his chest, and he picks up some dice or a sudoku game and a pencil. The simple, repetitive and unchallenging nature of the two ease his mind, bit by bit, and soon he's able to calm himself and go back to the world outside his room.based on my real experiences (177 words)
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[doryphoros]

username: aporia.

kalon name: leo

how they deal with anxiety: it felt like there was a hand around his throat, slowly closing into a tight, clawed fist. the sounds of pencil upon paper echoed throughout the dark room, accompanied by shuddering breaths. the careful strokes painted almost lovingly on the page morphed into jagged spears of lightning. the roaring in his head came to a pinnacle, a tidal wave of dark and foreboding water crashing down on his mind, but a sudden crrrack brought him back to reality. the pencil had snapped from the sheer force put upon the small tip, dustings of graphite scattered across the paper. he blew out a shuddering sigh and braced his head in his hands, raking back his unruly hair. he might as well make a living out of snapping pencils if he kept this up. he briefly glanced at the right side of his desk, the unfinished bracelet he'd just started making pulling him towards it with a sense of urgency.. leo picked it up, brushing the broken pencil and the darkened paper to the side, and taped it to the desk. he soon fell into a rhythm, weaving together the threads of his fractured psyche into a being with hopes and dreams, not just a frightened rabbit in the corner of its cage.. in the blink of an eye, the bracelet was finished. it was a subdued color scheme, with muted reds and a bright pop of electric red. the discordant chattering in his mind had calmed down into a quiet buzz, simply background noise as he tied his newest bracelet around his wrist. leo admired his newest bracelet with exhausted eyes, and spared a glance towards the wall above his bed. hundreds of unworn bracelets dangled from the ceiling, knotted together in intricate whorls and spirals. maybe someday he'd get rid of them, maybe give them out to some other people. but for now, they'd stay where they were, a testament to the passage of time and the whispers that seemed to plague him at every step.

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art extra:

art by me !

[redhorizon]

username: Bailey-Boo
kalon name: Quinton
how they deal with anxiety [500 word limit]: My anxiety is a huge part of my life. It's not just a disorder or something I happen to struggle with.. It's a part of me. I deal with it through my music. I write music, I play music, I listen to music, I eat, breathe, and sleep music. It calms me when I'm upset and it brings me a continuous flow of comfort and confidence. When I play my piano.. I'm confident in myself. I believe I can do anything. Every key I press, every note that sings from the boards of the rickety wooden frame of the instrument fills me with confidence that I can do anything. When I'm in public, I always carry my iPod and my headphones. If my anxiety starts to set in, all I have to do is plug my headphones in and let the music carry me away. Sometimes I bring my songbook and in there I write all my music. Pages upon pages of music fill the old book, pages of music that I created. It gives a really powerful feeling. Music has that ability. The ability to fill you with confidence and power, the ability to just pick you up and carry you away. Sometimes it's so easy to just lose yourself in the melody, just float away listening to the notes as they carry you up and far from the anxieties down below. Without my music, I would be alone. Without my music, I would be nothing. [247 words]
art extra [optional]: Res

[Tereziisbestgem]

username: Tereziisbestgem
kalon name: Lorise
how they deal with anxiety [500 word limit]: Music! They always love to sit on a beanbag chair in their room and just listen to a nice, soft remix of a song that fits their aesthetic. But besides that, they also love to doodle in their ocean-themed notebook!
art extra [optional]:
res!

[NightFlame22]

username: NightFlame22

kalon name: Paxton

how they deal with anxiety:
Sometimes Paxton finds it hard to deal with all his stress. Between work and college, he's got a lot to deal with, and his social anxiety only makes those things all the more difficult. He does his best to manage his anxiety, but sometimes things just pile up on top of each other until he's immensely overwhelmed. His mind races so quickly that he can't even process the thoughts as they whirl by, his heart pounds and his breathing grows shallow. It's not uncommon for him to have anxiety attacks like these, but fortunately he knows how to deal with them.

Shakily, Paxton takes a step back from what he's doing and looks away so he doesn't have to see the anxiety-inducing thing in front of him. Then, he goes to his bedroom and grabs a blanket, one that has a little hood that he can put over his head to help him feel more secure. The combined warmth and weight of the blanket allows him to relax enough to steady his breathing, and often takes the edge off his headache if he has one. Then, he'll pull out a metal instrumental album and blast it through his earbuds to drown out the outside world. While the wild music might seem like it would be too much during an anxiety attack, the sheer volume from it helps him to separate himself from whatever might have caused the attack to begin with. It's just instruments of course, the harsh vocals probably would make him considerably more stressed. Once he's bundled up and listening to his music, Paxton starts to feel like he's got control of his own bubble. This helps him return to a more calm state, if still a bit nervous. He's no longer hyperventilating, and his mind has slowed to let him think clearly. He stays in the bubble for a short while longer to make sure he doesn't immediately launch into another attack. Paxton is still a bit shaky afterwards, but having taken a bit to calm himself down, he can now look at the thing that caused him to have an attack in a more objective manner. Was the task too much? Maybe he could break it down into smaller bits. Is there too much stuff going on? Maybe he needs to cancel or reschedule one of his plans, or if that isn't possible, perhaps he could take what free time he has to simply relax and take care of himself. While these things might seem obvious, it can be hard for Paxton to think of them when his mind isn't wired to do that. It takes a bit of time, of course, but he knows that if he didn't take care of himself during these attacks, he wouldn't be able to move forward with what he needed to do. While it's not fun to have such bad anxiety, Paxton is at least relieved that he can take care of himself when it's too much to handle. (500/500)

art extra:
(Not really art, but this is the music I use to calm myself down during an anxiety attack)