You may have anxiety that needs your attention and healing. But you are NOT anxiety.๐๐ผโ Itโs important for me to share some thoughts on this during #mentalhealthawarenessmonthโ
โ As someone who has been diagnosed with moderate Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), I know first-hand the pain, discomfort and inconvenience that anxiety can have on everyday life. โ โ To the point that โฆโ โ ๐๐ผ Iโve felt that I wanted to crawl out of my skin.โ ๐๐ผ I have felt trapped and stuck in my own mind.โ ๐๐ผ I have become catatonic in the middle of the store.โ โ OCD is one of the most misunderstood forms of anxiety. Most people think itโs about being super organized and perfectionists. โ โ Thatโs where the loose saying โoh girl, Iโm so OCD. I have to have my things organized in a certain way.โ comes from.โ Ugh.๐โ Iโm like, โgirrrrrl believe me you donโt want the real OCD.โ ๐โ โ OCD is actually when a person gets caught in a cycle of obsessions (unwanted, intrusive thoughts, images or urges that trigger intensely distressing feelings), followed by compulsions (behaviors someone engages in to attempt to get rid of the obsessions and/or decrease the distress).โ โ Essentially itโs like living in a loop of fear. A black hole of sorts. โ ๐บ Itโs hard to convey in a single post, but if youโre curious just go to YouTube and search โliving with ocdโโ โ When I first started my healing journey I read books to educate myself + started therapy specifically helpful for OCD, like exposure therapy and CBT.โ โ Looking back, I started identifying as OCD. โ I would say things like โI am OCDโ or โI am anxiety girl.โ โ As if Vanessa = OCD. โ I started blending who I was with the disorder itself. โ โ ๐ซ NO! That is not okay nor is it helpful for healing and anxiety management.โ โ For example: people who happen to have diabetes donโt go around saying โI am diabetes.โ โ โ We must separate ourselves from our โconditions/disorders.โ Otherwise, we will inadvertently give it more power.โ โ And for a while โฆ thatโs what I did.โ I was working on it, yet feeding it. #soweirdโ โ
It wasnโt until I started focusing on holistic healing (mind, body, spirit) that I started experiencing the bigger, deeper, lasting shifts. ๐ซ
And it wasnโt until I separated it from MY identity that I weakened its grip, which allowed for the tools I had to actually help me better manage it.
When I was getting certified in various mindset modalities like NLP and hypnosis, I remember actually feeling mad that I wasnโt introduced to them sooner. Why werenโt more therapists talking about them and sharing them?
I remember feeling a little pissed that out of all the years of therapy not ONE mention of these healing modalities. My journey has proven that therapy is important, but mindset work is crucial.
They go hand-in-hand HANDS DOWN! So I was ๐คฏ ๐คฏ ๐คฏ looking at certain things in retrospect.
Anyway โฆ I can talk about this all day.
But hereโs the moral of the story: โจ Healing work is multi-faceted. โจ Change your language and relationship with the anxiety you happen to have. โจ Because YOU are not anxiety (or trauma, depression, etc). Just like you are not your hair. ๐ฌ
YOU are powerful. Donโt underestimate your strength. ๐ช๐ผ
I really hope this helped one person today! And tell me โฆ how are you showing anxiety whoโs boss?๐๐ผ ________
Ready to work deeply on your mindset to FEEL amazing, gain clarity, get aligned and get out of your own way?
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