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TL;DR?
Yes. You will be okay.
No matter where you are right now, you will be OK. The road will have its ups and downs, but you will make it. Things will get better, one way or another. It may not feel that way for a while. Hang in there anyway. Things will look up again. And you will be okay.
And you are not alone. Millions of people experience anxiety. If you are not feeling OK, countless others know something of what you are going through right now. And just like them, you will be OK.
But before you read further, we want you to pause and take five deep breaths.
Put your hand over your heart, close your eyes and repeat, “I am going to be okay.” Repeat as many times as you need. Stop when you feel a little better and the affirmation has begun to sink in.
If that exercise didn't help, try listening to an uplifting song as you read:
Uncertainty can reach into every area of our lives: finances, health, careers, relationships, and more. It is hard to make plans, or even feel a sense of normalcy, when so much seems up in the air. For one reason or another, all of us have wondered if we will be OK.
Living in a constant state of worry when you are holding your life together at the seams can be incredibly exhausting. This is especially true when you feel that everything will be ruined if you let go or forget a single step.
When we live like this, our body can feel trapped in survival mode, using its resources to fight the circumstances we are in. Rest, repair, and restoration become harder when we feel stuck in fight or flight. And when our health suffers, it can add another financial and emotional burden to an already overwhelming life.
While we are proponents of looking at the glass half full, we also believe in accepting what we are experiencing. It’s OK not to be OK. We can be not OK but also have faith in ourselves to find a way out of the situation we are in.
Simply accepting that we are going through a tough time can be helpful, even freeing. Even if nothing in your life changes, acceptance can release some energy and make space for healing to move into your life.
Here are a few more reasons why you will be OK:
You are acknowledging that something does not feel right.
When things don’t go our way, we often bottle up our feelings or try to sweep them under the rug. While this may work temporarily, things often explode in a big way when you are triggered. But by allowing yourself to feel and acknowledge the anxiety, you are facing it head-on.
You are here.
The very fact that you are here and reading this article means you will be OK. It means that either you actively looked for help or someone who cares for you sent it to you. It means you are willing to make an effort to feel better. Don’t take the small wonders and gestures for granted. Good things are aligning for you already. You got this.
You are taking one step at a time.
Sometimes tiny baby steps. But you are making your way. Slowly but surely. It may not seem like you are making much progress, but you are heading in the right direction. Just keep at it.
You are outside your comfort zone.
Yet you are trying your best to overcome it. Being outside our comfort zone can teach us what we are capable of and help us grow.
You are looking at setbacks as learnings.
As hard as things are right now, just asking yourself, “What did I learn from this experience?” helps in changing our perspective. When we look at the things that are causing us anxiety, we learn from them. Even if those challenges do not inspire us, they give us experience. There is no guarantee that you can avoid situations of anxiety in the future, but the experience teaches us how to manage them better.
Difficult experiences can also make us more empathetic and understanding. When you go through a difficult experience, you can understand and relate to others better. This significantly helps others when they are going through a tough time.
You are taking your time.
When we rush through an experience because it's uncomfortable, we often miss the opportunity for growth. Problems can reveal something we need to notice. If we take one mindful moment in the middle of our anxiety, we may be able to see it. This does not come naturally to any of us, and it is hard to find meaning in anything when we are just trying to survive.
All we can do is take our time. Try to stay with this moment so you can rest, heal, and begin again.
You are changing your vibe.
Gently changing a negative thought pattern can make a meaningful difference. While this small but significant change may not show results immediately, its effects will compound over time and reduce the thoughts of anxiety.
You are paying attention to self-talk.
The way we talk to ourselves shapes much of how we experience life. This is not only hard to accept for most of us, but it is also hard to change. It is also difficult (and tiresome) to monitor your thoughts all day long. There is no device that can do it for you. That is why changing from within can feel so difficult.
This is also the reason many of us regress in our habits. Our first attempts to change a habit are often motivated by external factors. For instance, if you have a personal trainer, you will work out regularly. But if you do not change the inner dialogue about working out, you will fall back into the old habits and quit working out the moment you don’t have a personal trainer (external stimuli).
So next time you feel anxious about the future (or even the past or the present), remember you are on a journey. The purpose and meaning of life’s experiences are often revealed to us in hindsight. All you need to know is that you are not alone in this. And all you can do is keep taking the next small step. Everything else will fall into place over time. And you will be okay.