4/29/2017 2 Comments maybe we're avoiding our anxietyI used to feel experienced enough to give advice on how to combat anxiety. But the more life I live and the more experienced I become, the more I reflect and think about how clueless I really was. Mind you, I was doing the best that I could with the tools and experience I had, but HOLY HELL thank goodness I've looked inward. Now, with new insight and more life lived, I find myself questioning my prior suggestions and even how I dealt with my own anxiety in the past. (**spoiler - it's not good news) YA SEE, I feel like I did a lot of avoidance rather than getting down to the nitty gritty, rather than actually dealing with the root issue(s). I did a lot of short-term, quick fix things that would make me "feel" better temporarily. Surface level shit. Things that would give me a "high", so much so that I'd forget all about what I was anxious about in the first place. But wait, that's the goal, right? Eh. Not really. That is, unless you want that same, annoying, chest-crushing, debilitating, overstayed-its-welcome anxiety to come tiptoeing back into your life. If you really want some of those anxious feelings to pack their bags and head out for good, you gotta dig deeper into the parts of the dirt where it gets hard and tiring. I know, I know. More work? Yep, more work. (**reminder / disclaimer - I am not a medical professional and this post, by absolutely no means, should serve as medical advice / an alternative to seeking professional guidance for mental health. This is also only my experience(s) and I'm aware that every person has their own unique experiences & situations!) If there's one monumental thing I've realized about myself (especially in the past year), it's that I'm really good at avoiding and numbing the pain. I'm kinda sorta the MASTER at finding things to distract from what the real issue is. I know I've touched on this in the past, but it's worth revisiting. It IS possible to have too much of a good thing. And good things, used in excess, can actually become distractions / avoidance techniques. AKA bad things. The scariest part about these "good things" is that they can continuously be written off as good things, and therefore accepted as healthy coping mechanisms, even if they do get to an unhealthy place. Anything that keeps us (for an extended period of time) away from the core problem is, well - part of the problem. we all have our good things gone bad. |