“This is so Brave! Avoidance is the #1 thing anxiety tells you to do. Yet here you are, reading this page.
Wow! That’s pretty awesome”
FEAR & WORRY
Anxiety can be so annoying!
I picture anxiety like this annoying neighbor that keeps popping up, telling us we need to be worried about something. Or that its too risky to take the actions we want, we better just play it safe and do nothing. So we stay home and our anxiety knows right were to find us to keep reminding us of all the dangers out there. It’s a vicious cycle-until we break it!
Are you stuck in one of these anxious patterns?
Worrying about the future
Replaying what just happened to see where I can beat myself up instead of relishing in the happy moment
Feeling so overwhelmed by indecision that you don’t make a decision. And then that leads to feeling sad, guilty, angry, more anxious etc.
How else do fear and fear get in your way?
social anxiety
social fears mess with our goals & our relationships
Here’s are some signs that you may have some social anxiety:
In Your Social Life
You’ve convinced yourself that you don’t like people as way to justify why you avoid them. You don’t say what you’re thinking, stay quiet. You don’t let people know you’d like to be friends or to date.
At School
You work alone even if its more work. You pick the written paper instead of the presentation. You drop the class as soon as you find out there will be an oral presentation.
At Work
You don’t get promoted because you avoid presentations, leading a group, or speaking up at work. You avoid the lunchroom, making friends with colleagues, and networking.
In General
You don’t want anyone to see you or to observe you doing anything-even if its as simple as crossing the room. You don’t ask questions because you are afraid of what other people will think. You don’t go places alone (surprise: that’s social anxiety too).
UNCERTAINTY
Uncertainty is Uncomfortable But It Isn’t Dangerous
Fear of the unknown is so scary that it might be the reason you don’t do a lot of stuff you want to do. Do you ever chose to stay in the comfort of what you already know even if its a bad situation/relationship? That’s fear of the unknown getting in your way. Guess what? Anxiety, fear, and worry are just emotions. They aren’t proof that anything bad will happen. Which means just being anxious isn’t dangerous.
I support people in learning how to overcome the urge stay in the comfort of the unknown, encouraging you every step of the way. Trying therapy with a new therapist might seem like an unknown. Here’s one way to start working around that fear, I want to help and I have over 15 years experience helping nervous people start therapy.