This is still a bit of a strange thing for me to write, even with years and years of anxiety experiences "under my belt" so to speak. I love my anxiety. I love it because this is the only way I know how to really be in freedom. If I hadn't discovered how to coexist with this space, I would probably still hate being anxious and still be walking around, exhausted, disconnected, feeling overwhelmed and afraid every single day.
You and I, anxiety, we have explored much and been through much and without you I wouldn't have started the most important work of my life. Work that's enabled me to step out into the world and get better and better at having my own voice. Better and better at being ok with my own less desirable emotions, being ok that sometimes I don't feel confident or comfortable and even in that state, I CAN STILL GET STUFF DONE. I still matter.
so, anxiety, I love you
Thank you for being my early warning system to being overloaded, stressed, and under-appreciative of my own self. Thanks for the panic attacks that get my attention in a way that hardly anything else can. Thanks for the unease I feel when I pursue goals I know are important because that's how I can gauge how on-track I am. Thanks for the discomfort that accompanies getting out of my head; it reminds me that NOW is the only moment I know for sure is here.
Thanks anxiety, from your friend Irene!