I listened to a voicemail one day from an acquaintance. “Hey Kara. Give me a call back. There’s something I need to talk to you about.”
I froze. Immediately, my mind spun into a cyclone of possibilities of what I could have done wrong. I braced myself for getting in trouble, for getting lectured, for knowing that I’d likely freeze, unable to defend myself. My heart pounded, my skin reddened, my chest was tight as it held these anxious feelings.…
A year and a half ago, while working with a counselor, I was given a test meant to catch any major mental illness. If I was a sociopath, narcissist, had major addiction or depression, this test was supposed to let me know. While I don’t tend to put a lot of merit in tests, I was curious to see the results. An appointment or two later she said, “Micah, these tests indicate that you have a fairly high amount of anxiety.” I was surprised. While I had been through some fairly significant life shifts, and some emotional ups and downs, I felt cool, calm, and collected. Because the test results indicated otherwise, I realized I had better pay attention and figure out what was really going on. As I looked within, I discovered certain patterns of living that weren’t serving me. Here are some of those patterns and tools I’ve learned to live more authentically.
The plague of positive thinking
While people keep gratitude journals and practice gratefulness in beneficial ways, this is exactly what I was doing that kept me from addressing what didn’t work in my life. I am a person who can always see the positive. I …
