It seems like a lot of people think that if we have a "bad" feeling like anxiety or fear in our stomach or throat that there is something wrong and we need to make it go away. We do all kinds of things to avoid feeling bad so we reach to alcohol, medication, binging on food, binging on tv, etc which only temporarily helps but in the long term leads to more "bad" feelings.

What if those "bad" feelings actually just needed our attention? What if those feelings were trying to tell us something? What if the only way to get rid of those "bad" feelings was to give them the love and respect they deserve for trying to help keep us safe? What if the only way out is through?

The reason I was on medication for 10 years for social anxiety was because I was scared of my feelings. I needed to suppress them to shut them up. Then I realized that by pushing them away I was only doing more harm which lead to more and more suppression through medication and alcohol. It wasn't until I was able to really be with my feelings, give them the attention they needed and listen to them that I was able to get off medication. I was able to completely change my relationship to anxiety so I could feel the same feelings and just live my life. In the past I would let anxiety completely control my life and what I did.

Hey I'm not perfect by any means and I still get tricked by my feelings but now I'm aware and I'm not going let them take me down a long, dark, black hole anymore.

So I guess my message today is that our feelings serve a purpose. We need to give them love and respect in order for them to calm down and go away. It's only by resisting them that they persist.

The only way out is through.