I really love this article that I found
about Anxiety. It is written by an anonymous writer titled
How to Make Anxiety Work For You, Not Against You. Everyone has experienced anxiety from time to time but if you are going through some tough
challenges right now you are really going to enjoy this article. It
really hits home in such a beautiful way on how to make anxiety your
friend and not your enemy.
This article was so great it almost
made me cry reading it. It has a really powerful message that I know
anyone who reads it will be able to relate to it. I remember growing
up I was filled with A LOT of anxiety about everything. I went from
childhood abuse to my mom and dad disappearing leaving my little
sister and me with a friend who really didn't want us to be with her
because she was a single mom with 3 kids of her own. It was a very
scary time for me because I didn't know if me and my sister were
going to be homeless. I had anxieties about school because I
was always behind and I still had to deal with the social politics at
every school we moved too which made things even worse. I worried
about everything.
My anxiety seemed non stop even in
adulthood when I had to face some serious health problems back to
back. For the longest time, anxiety was something that I had to
fight. Everything hurt and I had to do everything to stop the pain
but no matter how hard I fought to stop the pain and make things
better things kept getting worse. I got to the point in my life where
I was so afraid that I would be crushed by something “out there”
that I didn't even want to leave the house or even my bed at times. I
have seen great therapists and they were helpful, but I still felt
like I was missing something. I didn't know what it was until a few
years ago.
Anonymous said, “I was the one who
had turned anxiety into some sort of creepy horror movie character,
when really all she was, was a version of me who just wanted to be
heard and loved.” This is what I came to realize myself. I realized that I was
fighting myself and making an enemy out of something that was trying
to help me. Instead of fighting my anxiety I learned to embrace it
and listen to it. That is when I went from being extremely fearful to
being very adventurous and outgoing.
Anonymous said, “I decided that day
to change anxiety's name to “sweetheart”... When she feels
worried, I tell her I am there for her, and she smiles. When she's
angry, I listen to what's bothering her, and she relaxes.” This is
exactly what I learned on my journey. When I feel pain or anger I
literally stop, look at it and I say to myself I see you, It is ok to
be there, I love and accept you anyway then the pain, frustration and
anger just melts away. My anxiety aka sweetheart just wants to be
seen and heard so I see her for what she is and I say it's ok ^_^
Anonymous said, “When you accept and
love parts of yourself that you deem unacceptable, a strange thing
happens. Those parts start working with you instead of against you.”
When I learned that anxiety was not my enemy I was able to travel and
explore beyond my wildest dreams. Staying focus on my Spiritual life
and learning Mindfulness techniques really helped me out a lot in
learning to let go and love all of myself. I learned to not fight
that part of myself but embrace it. I learned that anxiety is nothing
to be ashamed of. Anxiety is like physical pain and it can be
physical pain. That pain is not trying to kill you it is simply
trying to tell you that something needs to change and you have the
power to change it.
After much study and self-reflection, I
don't see anxiety the same anymore. If you can adjust your
perspective a bit you can learn to use anxiety to your great
advantage.
Anonymous said “Rather than seeing
UCI (anxiety) as something that needs to be removed, think about the
gifts it brings to your life and choose to see it differently. Now
that I can see my anxiety as a gift. I know what I need to do to get
back to inner peace, something I don't think I've ever really been
able to do.” This is the key right here. When something is strongly
in your face take notice and go back to inner peace. That is what
mindfulness is all about. It is about excepting what is and going
back to the center, to inner peace.
Don't be afraid. Find out what your
anxiety is trying to tell you and listen. From my experience, I know
that peace of mind is on the other side of listening to that part of
yourself that desperately wants to be heard. If you are struggling
with anxiety please read
How to Make Anxiety Work For You, Not Against You. I am very honored to have read that article. I hope you
enjoy it and find it as helpful as I did.
God Bless
