Ever find yourself sitting and thinking about all the things you want to do in the future, but you’re held back by anxiety? You have all these dreams and goals, but the anxiety keeps you from acting. If this sounds like you, you’re in the right place. I feel this almost every day. There are so many things I want to do, but as soon as my anxiety kicks in, I get scared away from doing them.
SEARCHING FOR MORE
Lately, I’ve been questioning if my current job is what I want to do forever. I’m sticking with it for now, but I’m always thinking about what else I could do instead or on the side. Recently, I’ve been toying with the idea of posting more on TikTok, sharing my thoughts on fashion and other topics. But my anxiety never fails to hold me back. I worry about what people will think about me or how I look, that my opinions are stupid, and then I start spiraling. It sucks cause my anxiety is holding me back from something that would help me feel more fulfilled.
I know wanting to be an influencer might seem cheesy, but I’m a social person. I love talking and sharing with people. I’ve been doing things like this since I was a kid. I used to stream Call of Duty and post YouTube videos, but I was always too shy to keep it going. As soon as something made me anxious, I’d step away and hold myself back.
This is one of my old Call of Duty Videos I had made on youtube. Only was getting 100 or less views a video, but it did not matter, I was just having fun making videos talking to whoever wanted to listen.
What frustrates me the most is that being social and sharing my personality with others is a fulfilling release for me. It makes me feel good, but my anxiety straps me down and holds me back from going all in. The way that it makes you feel is very hard to explain in words. In a way it is suffocating, like you are doing everything you can to fight it but the wear and tear it takes on your mind inevitably gets to you. It’s hard to push through it when your mind is constantly scaring you away from doing things. It’s not fun, and it’s super frustrating.
TAKE IT EASY ON YOURSELF, YOU’RE EXPERIENCING LIFE FOR THE FIRST TIME
I talked about this with my therapist recently, and she told me not to be so hard on myself. It’s frustrating but getting to upset only makes it worse. Anxiety is something you must learn to live with and work around. It’s about figuring out ways to use it to your advantage. This is something I’m still learning to do, but I’m seeing some small wins.
She further explained to me that your anxiety is not going to just end up going away without you doing anything. As a matter of fact, it will not go away no matter what you do. It is always with you. This may sound like a bad thing to some, but it is not. Think of your anxiety as something that makes you unique and different. It makes you who you are and is a part of your personality. You will be drained beating yourself up and getting frustrated with your mind constantly. Instead of using that energy against yourself, use it to learn to work hand in hand with your anxiety and become best friends with it.
My anxiety used to hold me back a lot. I used to never travel, but always thought it would be so freeing. I have started to travel more and it has felt just like I thought. Traveling has help me feel super fulfilled.
One of the most important, if not THE most important, things in life is to love yourself. Give yourself a break sometimes, you deserve it. Not much will happen if you keep getting down on yourself and frustrated that your anxiety is holding you back. Your anxiety will beat you down from time to time and it will be hard to get out of the slump. It could take weeks, months, or years for things to get better and that is okay. Give yourself some grace, you are learning how to navigate through life just like everyone else. While your anxiety is affecting you, try to learn how to navigate it and pick up on ways that make it better for you. Picking up on these things will help you navigate similar situations in the future, it will allow you to understand how to begin pushing it aside and chasing your dreams. Your anxiety will always be there watching out for you, but you can learn to navigate through it and achieve what you want.
START CHASING YOUR DREAMS
Starting this blog was one of those things I wanted to do to ease myself into putting myself out there. It took a lot of mental preparation to start. I wanted to talk about mental health, my style, and other interests. But every time I would try to get started, I thought about whether people would like it, or I would worry that it would not be perfect, and my anxiety would hold me back. It took a lot of mental effort to get to this point, but I am very happy that I followed through with it.
I don’t want to let my anxiety stop me from doing things. It’s super hard sometimes, but I keep trying to push through. My anxiety gets bad, and I get frustrated with myself still throughout the process of writing and improving this blog, but I just want to feel free and be able to express myself.
So here I am, trying to keep pushing, trying to not let my mind restrict me from being who I want to be. That’s the goal that you should try and have. From what I have heard from others, it is one of the biggest keys to managing your anxiety.