Jo Fleisher
Anxiety doesn't have to run your life.
Updated: Mar 7, 2019
Anxiety is NORMAL.
Anxiety is NOT DANGEROUS.
Anxiety is ADAPTIVE.
Anxiety is a part of life.....BUT, ANXIETY CAN BECOME A PROBLEM.
If you have anxiety, you may agree with part or none of this.
You, may not believe it, but anxiety is normal. We have all felt those "butterflies" in our stomachs from time to time....but what happens if those "butterflies" turn into "giant moths" and that feeling of anticipation turns into....absolute terror. Does that feel normal ?
They say that anxiety is not dangerous, well when those giant moths start flying around in your stomach and your heart pounds so loud that you think it is going to jump out of your chest, and your legs feel like "jello", and you can't breathe. Anxiety sure does feel dangerous.
Anxiety is adaptive....well, yes .... but I think we must adapt to it or we will "go crazy" or so it seems. We must adapt our thinking before anxiety adapts us. You may or may not agree with this, but let me tell you my reason for thinking this way. Anxious thoughts will always be around us, that's what makes us human, but we don't have to listen to them all the time. I have heard it said that anxiety is there to protect us .... but I say, "Sometimes I don't need protecting"...so it's at these moments when I tell my anxiety to "take a hike".
Anxiety is a part of life, yes this is so true. Anxiety can become a problem....this is even more true. But if it is a problem, there is a solution. Admittedly, it is not a quick fix but the solutions are there and all it takes is asking for the help in solving this problem. Please don't think you are alone in this, because you're not.
I just want to end this blog with a few words of encouragement for anyone who is struggling with anxieties, don't think that asking for help in dealing with your anxieties makes you appear weak, the exact opposite is true, it takes a very strong to person to admit they have a problem and to ask for help in fixing that problem.
Remember....Anxiety doesn't have to run your life.
