You did not! Did you get up and sing, looking so stunning??!! Guarantee that next year before the party, some lovely lady who was there last night will have bouts of anxiety, stressing, "How can I possibly go if that sweet, smart, talented, funny, bubbly & beautiful Laura will be there??!" Until the end, the mom in me just wanted to reach across the pond, give you a hug, stroke your hair, and say "breathe." At the end, I felt like you watching Jeff in his play 😘. Hope today-Laura isn't unhappy with last-night-Laura's merriment. Happy Wednesday, and hydrate 😁.
wow this resonated with me! I struggle with pretty bad anxiety. The feeling of waiting around all day for a social gathering that you are absolutely dreading, and letting your head fill up with bad thoughts that makes the anxiety even worse, I know all to well. And sometimes it’s all good and sometimes all those things you dread seem to really come true, but it looks like you were able to enjoy yourself! Very impressive🥰
I cannot tell you how much you have helped me out in my relationship with my son. He is thirty and was only diagnosed 18 months ago. I loved when you said that logic does not not cancel out anxiety. His meltdowns are legendary but are fewer now and do not last as long. He has a great therapist and just bought a house this year, But your straightforwardness with your journey has helped me so much to have a much better relationship with my son.. Please keep talking about all this. Thank you!
The moment you said “I’m gonna do it, I’m going to be Scarlett witch” I nearly burst into tears, I can relate to all of this sooo much and that moment was amazing. I was like “YESSSS, GO ON GIRL, YOU GOT THIS” I know how much it took to do that and you should be massively proud of yourself. Plus you looked fabulous girllllll 💃🏼
My brain has been relentless lately. But the little things have been so nice. Vlogmas. Christmas gifts. Tea. Just know you are not alone. Thank you for showing up in this world. Thanks for keeping it real. :)
I really appreciate that you are talking about mental health, especially during vlogmas. It makes it feel less isolating to have these kind of issues during the holiday.
The limbo feeling is a struggle. Constantly having to talk my brain out of the chaos thoughts can be exhausting. But your mom gave great advice. And you were also right about how almost every time one actually does/gets through the anxiety inducing thing, one usually ends up enjoying one’s self! When will our brains just let us skip the stressful moments! You make a great scarlet witch and it looks like the party was fun! ❤
Feeling very seen by this Laura, especially the shot at the end of you looking totally carefree on the karaoke. No one ever believes how much social anxiety I get because I’m quite outgoing once I come out of my shell!
My husbands holiday party is tonight. He works with these tiny, gorgeous women… and the dress pressure is REAL. I totally feel you in this whole morning anxiety talk and I appreciate your honesty and vulnerability. ❤
Yes! Go on Laura! Huge smile when I saw you enjoying the party 🎈 and you looked fantastic! We all know that the feeling before going out is the worse, you described exactly what happens to me. Unfortunately, I am avoiding doing things that give me this feeling, hopefully not forever ❤ thank you for another great vlog and I hope your head isn’t too sore this morning 😅 x
Thank you for voicing your internal struggles! It is so nice to see that I’m not alone in those feelings. I can relate to the anxiety limbo /mental and physical feeling loop that goes on before a dreaded event. Once I’m there everything is usually fine but the lead up to it can be so taxing. Remember to give yourself grace tomorrow as your body/mind will probably be exhausted from being in this state today (yesterday?😅). Thank you again and so glad I’ve found your channel❤
You’re absolutely smashing it this year Laura! What a beautiful and refreshing Vlogmas this has been. You’ve kept me company in the middle of the night while I feed my 8 week old baby - I caught up on your last video during the last feed and thought I’d refresh your page on the off chance there was another one for this next feed and was overjoyed that there was! And even more joy knowing that you’re doing this in a way that cares for yourself so we’re not benefiting from your burnout. Sending love across the ocean from a very tired mum feeding her baby in Australia x
Oh Laura I went on that anxiety journey with you I know exactly how you feel and it prevents me from doing a lot of things and stepping out of my comfort zone. I’m so glad you listened to P and you were a superhero and had a good time. I actually cried cos I was so happy for you. I need to be a superhero like you ❤
I was indeed screaming at the screen, but I was screaming “don’t rip it out!” 😂 Of course, do what makes you happy but I don’t recall any knitter that I ever gifted a hand knit getting at all critical about the item! They know the process, the time involved, and the love knit in every stitch. ❤ I agree logic does not cure anxiety. Oh, how I wish it did. I get very anxious about formal events. I try to channel my daughter in her early dress up days, rocking her pink, suede fringed boots. Or me as a child with my Dallas cheerleader white and sparkly blue cowboy boots…. It doesn’t always work but embracing playfulness and little girl carefree joy can work better for me than battling my brain with logic. Now imagine my joy when I watched to the end of your video and saw what you did! LOVE it! I hope you had fun!
i totally feel you with the anxiety, thank you for being so vocal about it! it really validates my feelings and i bet it does the same for others. also, just wanted to say, you looked absolutely f*cking adorable as scarlet witch
I’m also knitting mittens and couldn’t figure out why the second cuff was looking so loose and you totally reminded me that I forgot to change needle sizes too 😂 Ty!
Oh I'm so glad you dressed up so there are no regrets. I think you look just fabulous and more than likely you're going to outshine them all. You rocked it. Not that you need validation, but I'll bet Mr. Penrose will be proudly showing you off. Cant wait to hear all about the party.
Congratulations Laura….you did it!!! And you looked stunning. Hope you had a really good time. Please keep talking about mental health. I suffer from SAD and it seems to be particularly bad just now but part of the sadness I’ve put down to having Cancer treatment. I’m fine though, tumour has been taken away but some days the treatment can get me down. Onwards and upwards though ❤
There is enough happy and cheerful, we want real! Never apologize for realness. My nine year old daughter struggles with anxiety, after 2 years of therapy and also hard work with us at home she is much better, but you are so right that logic doesn’t help it. She knows her amygdala is flipping out over a perceived danger and how to help it calm down. Not always easy, but understanding it helps so much. Hope the party was ok!
I’m so glad you feel this is a comfortable and safe place to talk about your feelings. You looked absolutely beautiful and I can’t wait to hear about how the party went. 🎄❤️🎄
Thank you for your vlog and helping me to understand and acknowledge that what I'm feeling and have been experiencing is genuine and has a name! It's taken me more years than you've been alive to come to this point and I appreciate you Laura. Oh and by the way you looked lovely.
Thank you for talking about your anxiety because so many of us suffer silently. And we shouldn’t have to feel like we need to hide that stuff. By the way you looked quite stunning for the party.
I am SO proud of you Laura! It's really hard to do what you did and face your fears like that, but how beautiful was it to hear you say you chose to wear your costume because Penny said "be a superhero!" Because you probably are a superhero to her, you just happened to wear a cape for the party ❤ It's great timing for me watching your video today because I have our big Christmas party at work this afternoon with all the big important people and I'm feeling anxious about it. Last year, I had a lot going on around the holidays and wasn't in the Christmas spirit at all so I just walked in and walked out of the party. This year, I'm in a better headspace, so my plan is to stay for at least one glass of wine and a few bites of food, but like you, I'm giving myself permission to leave immediately if necessary. I hope you're taking extra good care of yourself today and having a super chill day to recover. Sending love and hugs your way 😘
Those of you who dont only put up the perfect stuff is a nice change to the curated stuff that is not sustainable. There is a time and place for curated, but the actual reality is nice too, if just to feel less alone in the chaos of life.😊
Your mental health chats make me feel so validated, even help me better understand some of my reactions. ❤ And your Scarlet Witch outfit was just jaw-dropping!
Our brains are so similar. I have terrible anxiety about social situations. I went to my husband’s work party last Saturday and I still have anxiety about it and keep going over every word I said to anyone and worrying over how I may have come across. 🤦🏻♀️
You looked lovely for your party. I hope you enjoyed yourself. This is the first year I've followed several knitting vlogs and I've noticed a trend of people feeling slightly stressed, not well, and struggling. I appreciate the honesty and the struggle. Today is my workplace Christmas celebration meal. I'm taking the day off to avoid my sense of anxiety. I feel fine about that decision.
Here it is, they anxiety makes its appearence... don't get me wrong, I am sorry that you have to got through such an uncomfortable emotion but I also feel grateful when people actually talks about it, cause it make me feel understood and less alone❤ I struggle with anxiety as well and especially social events are the ones that upset me the most. I feel exactly as you described here, it's always the "before" that I struggle with, way more than with the events theirselves. I am so proud and happy for you, that you decided to go and, from what I can tell from the last clip, that you had a ball!😂 You're a great example for all us anxious fellows and, especially cause I know what it feels like, it almost feels like a win for us too☺ (I hope it doesn't sound weird😅)
very proud of you for going to the party!!! i struggle with parties and formal events - was in therapy for it until last week when my therapist left the service, that’s a story for another time - you’ve given me the confidence to go to the pub with my friends tomorrow! have loved the realness of your vlogmas, i really appreciate it :))
Yess Laura, I love that. If Logic cured anxiety then we'd all be alright. I get anxiety over medical stuff and I know I over react but I can't control how my body reacts and get panic attacks sometimes. The only way for me to manage it is to take anxiety tablets if and when I need them. But people who are more in control of their emotions may be sympathetic but don't understand, and it can be just as stressful for them as they don't understand why we can't snap out of it or know how to help. I hope last night went good for you ❤
The way l have explained it, in English teaching abroad, is that tea is a lighter meal usually in the early evening. When we had evening activities we would have tea before going out and supper when we got in again. Dinner is a more substantial cooked meal. Can be served at lunchtime (school dinners) or in the evening (going out for dinner, a dinner party) Dinner at lunchtime seems to be a mostly northern British thing. Might be just lunch down south! Of course there are variables - a chippy tea (fish and chips) is actually a really heavy, rich, cooked meal . . .
