Old friend… anxiety
It took me a few weeks to make a decision about a theme that I wanted to share with you in this post. My emotions (especially one), which I haven’t experienced for many years, helped me make the decision, namely – anxiety appeared in me. In the past, this feeling was well known to me, it accompanied me practically every day. After working through my traumas I freed myself from this feeling but it returned to me – like an old friend whom you have known for years but you have not had contact with. Reflecting on what changed, why the fear returned, I realized that for the past few weeks I had not lived in accordance with my values and beliefs. Values that are of great importance to me include family, friends, self-development, work, health, openness and honesty in relationships with myself and other people, a daily dose of exercises and practices that allow me to maintain mental/emotional health, a balance between responsibilities and pleasures.
For many of us, life has changed drastically in recent weeks. Many aspects in our lives have changed a lot – mine too. And it was here that “my old friend” found his way to me. Unpleasant thoughts began to appear: “What will happen to my work?”, “How will I cope with the change?”, “I will not be able to leave the house and enjoy the meetings/activities that give me fulfillment” – these are just some of the thoughts that appeared in my mind. I also started following news – about seven years ago I made a conscious decision to stop watching/listening to them because they influenced me in a negative way (they caused me sadness, sometimes anger and sometimes anxiety).
I will not hide that it took me some time to find a solution to say goodbye to anxiety and adapt to change in everyday life – however, I succeeded. Fear left me because I realized that I had devoted too much time and energy to focusing on things that I couldn’t do. Instead, I allowed myself to change my perspective – I began to pay attention to what is in my control and to aspects that I can still practice. I can still give my clients support but in a different form, I can still go for a walk, I can still practice yoga and meditation, I can still develop professionally and personally through reading/studying/painting/creative work, I can still develop and care for my relatives and friends, I can still laugh/dance/sing/feel the joy of being – being myself fully. And here, I would like to invite you for reflection, ask yourself the questions that I asked myself: “what in this situation can I do to keep living in harmony with myself and my values/beliefs?”, “what can I focus my attention and energy on? “,”what still makes me happy? or maybe I can discover new activities that will bring value and meaning to my life?”
I am sure that the answers to these questions will give you courage, peace, positive surprise of how much you can still do each day. I wish you successful attempts in answering the above questions and in implementing the change that you can achieve.