When Anxiety is Getting the Better of You
Many of us are no stranger to anxiety. It’s all too easy to live our lives in fear because we’re so afraid we won’t be able to handle the outcome.
You may be noticing your worries popping up for this fall, wondering if you’ll be able to navigate the many changes that may be coming your way.
As a therapist, this is where I love to come in.
I want to remind you as you read this (and yes, if you’re reading this you were meant to get this message today!) that you are so incredibly capable.
You can handle not just what this fall will bring, but what your life will bring.
You have an amazing life that’s waiting for you and there’s no reason that your anxiety should stop you from it.
It can be so easy to let our fears run the show.
I see this happen all the time with students, whether it’s hesitating to ask that professor to mentor you, holding back from asking that person out on a date, or picking yourself back up after you didn’t get that job offer.
We worry that people will judge us as incapable, stupid, or flawed.
And you know what?
SO WHAT.
If people have a judgment on your life, that’s for them to deal with. Not you.
The important thing is that you remember that you can always bounce back up.
This is where a keyword comes to mind:
RESILIENCE.
You have it. Resilience is the antithesis to anxiety and it’s the antidote to fear.
If you can remind yourself that you are able to get through whatever waves come your way, you’ll find that you’re able to get out there and enjoy the surf so much more often.
And here’s the real kicker.
When you know what matters in your life—in other words, what your values are—it makes it that much harder for anxiety to overrun your day.
Now that doesn’t mean that anxiety will just disappear. Don’t we wish that was the case?
No, instead it’s about learning to acknowledge and notice the anxiety when it’s there but not letting it actually stop you from what brings you meaning in your life.
If you’re solid on the people, experiences, and lessons that are worth it, anxiety loses so much of its power.
So hold on to this when you’re feeling overrun by the “what if’s” and the doubts that keep you up at night.
Remember these two things:
- You can navigate whatever life hands you because you are mightily resilient. It’s a superpower that you have.
- If you know what matters to you, anxiety has much less of a chance of stopping you. It doesn’t mean the anxiety won’t be there, but it’s much less likely to run the show.
It’s hard to know what this fall will bring.
But if there’s anything we’ve learned this past year and a half, it’s that we can get through just about anything.
It doesn’t mean that there won’t be a pain, loss, and fear along the way; however, we have been reminded that the human spirit is incredibly hearty.
Yours included.