Anxiety is a part of life and can lead us to take action on our problems.
However, When it's constant, it can be downright terrifying. It becomes a heavy burden that we have to carry, regardless of whether we feel strong enough or not.
It's no surprise that anxiety is one of the most common reasons people seek psychological counseling.
As they say in The Blurt Foundation:
When we have anxiety, everything can feel overwhelming. We often feel nervous and stressed. Our thoughts can race, and we may feel like our reactions to everything become very extreme.
It's clear that having anxiety is difficult enough, but there's something that makes it an even harder path: guilt.
If you tend to suffer from anxiety, you most likely know what I'm talking about: feel anxious because you have been anxious for several days. Worrying because you worry too much. Fearing fear… and so on. Getting into this pattern causes guilt and with it, more nervousness, irritability and obsessive thoughts.
"Why do I feel this way?" "Surely this isn't even a problem for others?" "I'm too weak." and many other irrational conclusions are some of the thoughts that can be added to whatever was causing you anxiety in the first place.
While there are many things worth saying about anxiety, I just want to leave a simple message here today:
Don't belittle yourself for feeling anxious. You're human, and therefore, sooner or later, you'll feel anxious. Give yourself that permission so you can take action instead of getting stuck in your own anguish.
When you're already stressed about something, the last thing you need is to go over every little thing you did or didn't do about a specific situation. You don't need your inner snobbish critic. You need a friend.
Your best bet when anxiety strikes is to treat yourself as you would a good friend: with acceptance, openness, and humor. Allowed to be anxious from time to time.
It may not be easy at first, but give it a try. Treating yourself with kindness and respect will lead you to action.
You may end up realizing that it is worth investing in your mental health. You could also take the time to try some self-help resource. Or pick up that lost hobby you once had. Or learn a new skill. The end result will be a certain distance between you and the anxiety, and even more importantly, Being anxious won't be what defines you.
Because we are all more than our anxiety.
