I wouldn’t have believed me either…

I thought anxiety would rule my days for the rest of my life. I hid from it with food, TV, anything to avoid feeling it. Feeling it truly feels awful. My anxiety was impacting so many parts of my life. I wasn’t able to enjoy being a mom. I wasn’t able to connect with my husband, and it nearly ruined my marriage. I struggled with finding new mom friends because I was sure no one would want to be friends with me. And up until recently, I was holding strong to the baby weight. Then I figured out a way to feel it without making it mean anything bad about me. My anxiety didn’t mean there was something wrong with me. It just meant something was wrong. I’m not broken. Not now and not then. I just had to find a way to process the anxiety that worked for me. And for me, I am literally saying out loud what I’m feeling. I name the emotion. Then I describe the feeling in my body, because that’s where we experience our emotions…in our bodies. Where am I feeling it? What are my physical reactions? Racing heart? Tears stinging my eyes? Body temperature rising? What color is it? What temperature is it? What shape? What size? What weight? We never question our good feeling emotions, because they feel good. If you’re like me, the negative ones always made me think negative things about me. And that just wasn’t something I was willing to do. But that’s not true anymore. Now I notice the emotion and I know how to just let it be there. I know how to slow my mind down now so I can process it and move on. I’m more connected to myself than ever before, and with that connection everything else is getting better. I’m having more fun everyday with my kids. I have a core set of friends who I can lean on when I need them. My marriage is stronger than ever. And I’m embarking on my weight loss journey with open eyes and a willingness to fail and learn and grow. Every thing I’m doing now is because I gave myself permission to grow last year. 2023 was a hell year for me, but I wouldn’t be where I am now if it hadn’t been for that chapter. You can do that too. No matter what you’re going through right now, you’ve got this!