There are many people that don’t understand anxiety and how it works. I won’t explain everything in one post , but I do want to address an issue my children and I both have had. Sometimes you feel better in certain situations than others. It is very common and it all comes down to how you think in other situations. For example, you may feel better in the safety of your own home rather than at a family gathering. I have missed many family gatherings over the years that I regret.There is no difference in both of these situations, the only difference is in the way you think. You are the same person and it is not the situation that makes you feel worse, it is your thought pattern and memory working together. You may spend the day worrying about going to a particular function, setting your body up to be anxious on arrival and then blame it on the situation you are in rather than the thought pattern you have created during the day while at home. You may get there and then also worry about making a fool of yourself, spending the whole time tensing and trying to control how you feel and creating more anxiety. Do you see how we do this to ourselves? It is not the situation, but our perception of the situation that causes us to feel worse in certain situations. You must just accept how you feel wherever you are and in whatever situation you find yourself; deal with yourself and not the place. Anxiety loves avoidance, so take its power away, move forward and embrace these feelings of fear. This is the key. Moving towards your fears is far more productive than hiding from them. I am trying to teach my children this, but I still have my issues with it as well. I’m no pro, but counseling helps dealing with this.
~DarcSunshine~
