The first and most important thing my therapist told me when I started to see her a year ago was that anxiety is something you cannot brush off and expect to live peacefully. The more you try to push it away the more it bothers you.

Although what my therapist said was straightforward it took me a while to understand this and apply it into my day-to-day life.

Nobody wants and imagines a life of hardships which is why when we encounter tough circumstances it triggers a negative vibe that leads to anxiety or depression. 

So I started to embrace anxiety, understand what it is trying to tell me and then work from there. For so many years it’s a lack of self-identity and wanting to be like someone else that bothered me. Couple of years back when I found my passion and what am good at, I was (and still am) desperate to transform my passion into professional growth and success.

As I type this right now I feel uneasiness in my chest and I stop to ask myself what’s bothering me.

a) I am anxious about the fact that I have anxiety. Yes this is a very common feeling for people with anxiety.

Just being conscious about what is making me worried is giving me a bit of relief. And then this is what I just told myself “Welcome old friend. Nice to see you again. Now please take your seat at the corner of the room and let me do my work.”

b) The fact that I realized what I really want out of life now is making me desperate to go out and achieve what I want to. But years of anxiety and stress is not letting me be who I want to be.

So I tell myself, you cannot go from 1st gear to 5th gear just like that. I need to take it one step at a time and success will come at a later stage.

So what story is your anxiety trying to tell you? And how do you intend to respond to that story?