“There is no good or bad without us, there is only perception. There is the event itself, and the story we tell ourselves about what it means.”
Anxiety is a horrifyingly destructive emotion that can run your life. We see it all over – on social media, in movies, and in the lives of the people we know.
And I get it, I’ve been there: I’ve suffered extreme panic attacks, passed out, lost control of my hands that clenched so hard I could not physically unfold them. I’ve been pursed by anxiety all of my life. But I’ve learned how to coexist with it. It doesn’t control my life like it once did.
But one concept that we rarely consider is the practical benefits of anxiety. Because all too often, we characterize it by the negative effect it has on our lives, instead of taking a moment to think about how anxiety may be beneficial.
We also tend not to consider how to live alongside anxiety, how to make friends with it and how reducing fear around it’s existence can actually lessen its hold on our lives.
You can either let anxiety consume your thoughts & plunge your mental health into a bottomless abyss of pain. Alternatively, you can use it as an opportunity to identify your fears, overcome them, and live a life that you once considered to be impossible.
The choice is always yours.
Will you still feel anxious? Most likely. But by accepting, reframing, and acting on your anxiety, it can feel more like a helpful friend and less like a disruptive rival.
B 🤍