I've been dealing with anxiety in one form or another for the entirety of my life. When I was a kid I dealt with Separation Anxiety Disorder (SAD), I couldn't spend a single night away from home. I would get to my friend's house, have a great time until about midnight / 1am, and like clockwork, the waterworks would start and the panic would set in. Time to call Mom and Dad.
As I grew older, the SAD seemed to be not as noticeable, or at least I just learned to cope with it. Once I reached adulthood, it changed and mutated into a whole other beast known as Generalized Anxiety Disorder. This made it hard to pin point any triggers, or find specific ways to deal with the panic attacks. For a long time, every morning I would wake up with a knot in my chest, my guts churning and my brain going at a non-stop pace of "Danger Will Robinson! Danger!" I tried multiple types of coping methods from Cognitive Brain Therapy exercises, to medications, to psychologists, psychiatrists, and over the phone counseling. I read books, downloaded apps, anything to help me to get the anxiety flare ups under control. Mind you, this is was also the most stressful time of my life. Finishing University, starting a new job, starting a new relationship, my poor body was under constant stress and never got a break, and if I did have a break (usually between semesters) I'd end up with a cold, flu, you name it. At times it never really felt like there was a light at the end of the tunnel, and my coping mechanism was to make sure I had every minute of every day completely booked up. I needed to find a better way to take care of myself and to help me cope with the anxiety. Hobbies helped, but as they do, over time, they changed. The one thing that stayed constant for me was my love for Halloween and costumes! I knew about cosplay and tried it out once, but it wasn’t an overly great experience. The very first time I went to Fan Expo Vancouver and saw all of the cosplayers there, I knew that this was something I needed to do, it completely changed my perspective. I started to heavily get into designing my costumes and brainstorming which characters I could dress up as... So how does this link to the anxiety, you’re wondering. Well here it is...When I showed up all dressed up as Hexidecimal from ReBoot I felt unstoppable. I was a whole new person! I felt like I could do anything, because for once, I wasn’t my anxiety ridden self. I was relaxed, I was confident, I was my old self again. People would stop me and ask for photos, give me compliments, it was the most invigorating feeling I had ever experienced. I look forward to every convention and that day of celebrity status and just the feeling of freedom. It's electric and contagious! That was the year that started it all for me. It allowed me to break out of my shell and feel normalcy again. Now that I have been doing cosplay for so many years, on top of doing my CBT exercises, I officially feel level and more comfortable with myself. Cosplay has been a huge part in curbing the anxiety disorder to the point where I now consider it “in remission”. I did some further investigation on the interwebs to find that I am not alone in this endeavour. Cosplay has played a huge roll in helping other people with anxiety disorders as well amongst other things. If you haven’t tried cosplay, I recommend you at least try it once, just to feel the thrill of it and better understand it, or at least spend a day with a cosplayer to see the world through their eyes. If you live with anxiety, I whole heartedly suggest you try cosplay. I know it’s scary at first, but it will help you break down the barriers of your everyday life and open up a whole new world of opportunity and possibility. Here are a couple articles I found on the web that I found extremely inspiring and definitely worth a read! This first one is from a Therapist in Chicago, she talks about the benefits of Cosplay helping people. You can read this here. The second is an article similar to the one I am writing right now, of a cosplayer who’s journey certainly resembles my own. You can read it here. Don’t ever be afraid to reach out for help, there is a huge community of people going through the same thing as you. And whether you go into cosplay or not, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. Anxiety is a real disorder, it is debilitating but it is not life threatening and there is always a way out. You’re not alone out there, and I hope that the story I have just shared with you gives you a small bit of inspiration.
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Hey there! It's been a while since a post has gone up, so how better to get into the swing of things than discussing the tools you can use to plan your costumes! Things can get a little crazy and out of hand sometimes, or time just seems to slip away from you and next thing you know the con is a month away, a week away, a day away. It's always good to keep on top of what you need to do to get your costume con ready. But long before that what about being organized to get all the materials you need to build that epic costume? Or what steps is it going to take to make it? How about research? So many things to take into account before you start your new character. Here are some of the tools that I use to keep me on track! 1. Cosplanner This app is my absolute go to for all things cosplay related. I can plan my current cosplay, future cosplays and keep track of all my previous cosplays as well. This app lets you create tasks and checklists of all the things you need to buy or make, all the cons you want to wear your costume to, and keep some reference photos handy. Available for Android and iPhone. 2. Trello This app/webpage is awesome for planning projects. I create a card for my cosplay and leave notes to where all the digital media I might need is. I add in my due date and write myself notes of what I need to do and by when. I use this mostly for documenting my in progress photos, or upcoming photo shoots for completed cosplays. 3. Pages I am a big time mac user and advocate of iCloud, so I find the best way to plan out costumes is through pages. You can use Microsoft word, inDesign, OpenOffice etc. I create character sheets for each of my costumes consisting of my current measurements, the sewing patterns I want to use, fabric types and any accessories I need. I also add some concept art as reference that I can always refer back to. I print these off and put them into a big binder by my sewing desk. Helps keep everything in one place for easy access when I need it! 4. Pinterest For each cosplay I do, I make a board for that character. I fill it with concept art, cosplays that other people have made, some tutorials I may find relevant for what I am making, and any other inspiration I can find! 5. Sketchbook It's always good to have something to sketch your ideas in. Whether you use a physical sketchbook or a digital sketchbook it's important to jot down your doodles and ideas for both new costumes and in progress costumes alike. I personally carry around a physical sketchbook that I can fit in my pocket or backpack. This helps me do pattern calculations, write down shopping list ideas, draw out the character and get my head wrapped around the character that much better. 6. Dropbox Here I make a folder for each of my characters. I keep reference images, any note sheets I may have made, digital sewing patterns. I like to use dropbox so that I can access my notes and reference from any computer/tablet/phone where ever I may be at that time! This way I am always working on my costume and updating as I need to. There are so many great tools available out there for making yourself organized and planning projects. It's important to find what works for you to get your project on track! Happy planning! Well it's official! I'm live on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. You can find links to all of my social media on the Follow Me page! Keep a look out for new posts and announcements about all my cosplay adventures!
Alright folks! Welcome to 2019!!
The move is officially over and was definitely successful. Still have a few boxes left to sort through, but most everything else is done! That means it's time to get back into the cosplay world! Social media updates will start up again, blog topics, and of course a new costume!! I'll try to continue updating weekly for now, and once that gets going, we will try to update even more frequently! Stay tuned for exciting things to come! |
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