I have been living with anxiety for most of my life, and until recently I had no idea the extent to which it was negatively affecting my day-to-day life. There were days when I felt so overwhelmed that staying in bed was the only thing that felt safe. Nothing seemed to help, no matter how hard I tried.
My journey towards overcoming pathological anxiety began with realizing that my anxiety was out of control and something needed to change. That’s when I decided to seek professional help and started attending cognitive behavior therapy (CBT). Through CBT, I learned how to identify negative thinking patterns and challenge them in order to push myself out of my comfort zone and take back control of my life.
One of the biggest changes I made was restructuring my daily schedule – making sure I had regular routines so that my life had some form of structure and predictability. This created a sense of security which allowed me to slowly reduce the physical symptoms associated with anxiety by using relaxation exercises such as progressive muscle relaxation or deeply breathing through tense muscles.
In addition, challenging myself on a daily basis helped me gradually become more resilient by ‘facing’ obstacles instead of avoiding them. Doing this enabled me start tackling things like lengthy shopping trips or speaking in groups without worrying about what people would think or say about me. It took a lot of time but eventually it paid off - now that I know how powerful your mind can be when dealing with anxiety, it feels like a completely different world!
What I have learnt is that there is no magical pill which can take away our worries overnight – recovery takes time but it really is possible if you are willing put in the effort; you just need people around you who understand your struggles and support you along the way!