The good news is, it is possible to deal with anxiety in a way that will not cripple us. It is 
possible to move past stress and depression. It is possible to deal with these darker emotions, as long as the tight-fisted grip on the sabotaging habits is released. The question is, do we want to?
As long as we begin every sentence with the words, “Ever since …” whatever the trigger is that spiraled us into anxiety, stress and depression; as long as we cling for dear life to that dysfunctional part of our life, it is less likely we will move forward. It is a self-sabotage trick we play on ourselves, our badge of dysfunctional honor, that we cling to, unaware of the life changing choice we are making, is the very thing that sinks us as we cling to that deflated life raft. It is doomed to sink.
Sometimes it occurs to us only after numerous times of finding ourselves in the same place. How many relationships have we had that end up in the same dysfunctional pattern. Do I persistently have a fight or flight relationship with friends, money, jobs, or even with myself?
The beginning to healing life-long habits of anxiety, stress and depression is to recognize the dysfunctional habits that we have. This can be uncomfortable, because although we do not like how we are feeling, the exhaustion that accompanies anxiety, high stress levels and depression seems to overwhelm any and all past efforts to feel better. There seems no energy left except to keep repeating the familiar.
There is good news for a solution that works 100 percent of the time. It only does not work if we choose not to do it. It is a matter of the mind. It is possible to have a new thought.
Now before I start, please realize that the ego does not like change. It likes the status quo. Your mind will tell you, “This won’t work,” or “I’ve tried this before,” or “I can’t,” or “I won’t.” You will be 100 percent correct if that is what you decide to stick to.
Notice I said “decide.” The ego tries to run you in its comfortable old pattern of thought and behavior, even if it is something you do not like. The ego is not really in charge of you. It is more like the two-year-old having a temper tantrum, stomping and screaming until it gets its way. Yes, sometimes it is easier in the moment to cave to that demand. There is a deeper sense of satisfaction though, when we take charge of our ego.
Our thoughts do not think us. We think our thoughts.
Knowing this, now it is possible to move forward, into new territory, into taking charge of our emotional and mental health. Silence all negative and self-sabotaging thoughts with a new mantra, “Yes, I can,” and change your next thought into a positive step forward.
You can switch negative self-messaging to, “Yes, I can.” Notice I did not suggest for you to think, “I will try.”
To say “I will try” is to quit before you start. Do not do that. You are in charge of your run-away thoughts. Begin with, “Yes, I can.”
You can walk right out of anxiety, panic, stress and depression. The moment you fully realize you are in charge of you, not your emotions, no matter how big and scary they feel, is the moment you begin walking in freedom.
The concept of freedom is extremely helpful here. Does a courageous person never feel or experience fear? Of course they do. A courageous person sees the fear, but walks right on into helping the person needing the help anyway, because more is at stake. Just ask any member of the police and fire departments, or the doctors and nurses currently working on the front lines in our hospitals and nursing homes.
Each of us has that courageous lion in all of our hearts.
I am not saying to deny your feelings. I am saying to acknowledge them. But in the very next thought, think of a simple, positive solution. There is always something positive we can think. Play happier music, go for a walk as long as you can be six feet away from others, take a ride in the car. Start a new mantra, something you say to yourself to lift your spirits. Bake something delicious. Call a positive friend, or make new positive friends.
Now is not forever. I tell myself this every time I go to the dentist. It always happens to be true.
As long as we can leave behind the old mantra of, “Ever since I …” then there is hope. Theses days are a new beginning, especially with the equally new challenges we are going through with social distancing, quarantining, closed businesses and the sense of life being stifled. We build on hope, with faith in ourselves and faith in the good Lord who made us all. We are all worthy to fully participate in the human experience. When we add love, real love for our selves, our friends, our family and our world, we will feel better and begin to fully realize our mission here in this life.
More on this topic tomorrow.
God Bless