This fear stems directly from the belief that there’s a right and wrong way of living, and that if you don’t get it right, you’re destined to a life of misery and shame. This is a highly anxiety-provoking mindset.
“My past doesn’t define my future. When I start to shine the light of accurate information and gentle awareness on these painful patterns, I can set myself on a new trajectory.”
Understanding anxiety’s positive function throughout history can facilitate the essential shift in mindset from wanting to get rid of it to becoming curious about it.
Being able to define anxiety is one of the ways that we help to contain and soothe it, for what we can name and identify holds less charge than a nameless experience.