Anxiety. That big ball of dreadful knot in our stomach, the lump in our throat, the internal shaking, dizziness, racing heartbeat, the awful feeling that something bad is about to happen, and all those ruminating thoughts going round and round in an endless cycle. Yuck.

It begins…

• Ugh, not again.
• I’m sure it’ll go away right now..
• If I distract myself, I’ll be fine, right?
• Maybe it’s my heart…
• Am I going to vomit?
• I can’t breathe…
• My heart’s thumping out of my chest…
• I don’t want to deal with this anymore
• Can’t it just go away?!?

Anxiety is a normal human emotion. We need it to survive. But when the symptoms of anxiety begin to interfere with our daily functioning, we have to take steps to look at what’s happening internally. The more we try to ignore it, bandaid it, or push anxiety away, the bigger it gets. Why? Because it’s our body’s way of telling us to stop pretending that sweeping everything under the rug or keeping busy to avoid looking at what’s really going on, actually works.
Understand that…

• You don’t have to be ashamed or afraid to talk to someone about it.
• You’re not alone. There are many others who are struggling with this same issue.
• This is most likely something you’ve been dealing with longer than you can remember, and it’s just beginning to catch up with you.
• There are tools that you can learn to help manage your anxiety and keep it at a healthy level.
• ”You are not your mind.” -Eckhart Tolle

Support is available all around us. Allow yourself the time and energy to take care of yourself, you’re worth it.