Have you ever experienced your pulse race, your heart beating out of your chest and feeling as if you can’t breathe? This is what fear and anxiety may feel like to you and many other women: it can be very frightening. Fear is something that everyone feels but no one wants to talk about until it shows up in us as anxiety symptoms. Our fears could show up in many ways: fear of the unknown, fear of failure, fear of success. We may even be stopped in our tracks by the fear of the unknown as we become so attached to our comfortable day-to-day existence. Women everywhere are experiencing anxiety and depression from being so overwhelmed, stressed and unsatisfied. So many things to do (thanks Pinterest!) and not enough hours in the day to do them! We juggle so many responsibilities partly because we have to and also because we’re just good at it. However, sometimes there’s a price to pay for doing it all for everyone and not enough for ourselves.
So how does one begin to get a handle on negative feelings, particularly fear? How do you begin to help ease your symptoms of anxiety and depression? You start first by looking deep within and figuring out WHO. YOU. ARE. Not who your parents wanted you to be or who your children and partner think you are. And definitely NOT what society thinks you should be, what you should have, or worse, how you should look. It’s really about getting clear on where you’ve been and where you want to go. On what your strengths are and where your weaknesses lie. While this sounds easy, it can be difficult, especially if you have had some hurtful events in your past which may still be with you. Perhaps you’ve had experiences that cause you to think twice before leaping or fill you with nervousness and worry about taking that next step. Maybe your anxiety symptoms are starting to pop up when you least expect it and you’re not sure how to get a handle on them?
Finding a counselor that you connect with and trust can make the difference in tackling these fears and assisting you in living your life again! There are valid reasons why you are experiencing fear and anxiety; you and your counselor can work together to discover what these reasons are and begin reclaiming your life. Anxiety is manageable with the right tools!
