Prisons of Ourselves

Many of us suffer from generalized anxiety, myself included. This anxiety can manifest itself as fear, guilt, worry or sadness depending on the situation. The trigger can be nondescript and the onset can be quite severe. 

Our initial knee-jerk response is a sort of forcible deniability. The result is the emotional equivalent to forcibly holding in a sneeze. The overwhelming feelings of anxiety disburse throughout and leave us feeling emotionally spent and defeated. Medication helps, but does not address the underlying condition.

We may not be able to overcome the fear that we experience in social settings. It is said that we are all mere products of our own combined neuroses. If this is true, we do not need to fear the judgment of others because they are just as emotionally vulnerable as we are. We can make room for the fear rather than become forced out by it.

We acknowledge it, but need not react to it. Our social anxiety is performance based and we need not perform for anyone. Should we have to perform, such as public speaking, this is an act we perform for ourselves rather than for the scrutiny of others.

People in potentially hazardous professions often confront fear and anxiety, but most persevere with a resolve of knowing what is right. Our anxiety does not render us incapable of knowing right from wrong. Making ourselves prisoners of our own anxiety is self destructive and wrong.

Don’t wait for a safe time to act on your goals. Keep in mind that every act may be defined by some degree of fear and anxiety. So in this, there will be no safe time to begin. We may not be able to control our feelings, but we are in control of our behavior to some degree.

Quite often it is easier to reign in how we react to anxiety than to the anxiety itself. Goal oriented thinking allows us the ability to become autonomous. Counseling, and in some cases medication, can be beneficial in assisting us to overcome generalized anxiety. But perhaps, the best therapy lies in our willingness to learn from our feelings rather than being bullied by them.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons CC ASA 2.0 Author Liam Quinn from Canada