Your Anxiety Will Tell You You're Not Ready, But That's How You Know You Are | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Health and Wellness

Your Anxiety Will Tell You You're Not Ready, But That's How You Know You Are

Change is good, right?

250
https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-on-rock-platform-viewing-city-196667/

Change is good, right?

So why does change feel so wrong? A big decision becomes even bigger when you struggle with your mental health.

Anxiety usually keeps you up late hours of the night when your routine is steady, while nothing drastic is changing in your life. But anxiety will also take sleep away from you when there's a "life-changing" decision to be made.

The title itself, "life-changing decision," automatically puts intense pressure on your already stressful situation. Letting your anxiety take over your thoughts makes finalizing that decision harder than it has to be.

Dealing with anxiety along while trying to make huge life choices calls for the most unpredictable state-of-mind imaginable. When you finally feel like you've made up your mind, you can't help but feel like you're making the wrong choice. Despite going over the pros and cons while finding the pros out weight the cons, there are still 'what-ifs' lingering in the back of your head.

Coming to a conclusion also means seeking others advice to reassure what you're doing is the right thing to do. Even though you embody the idea that your choices don't need to be validated by others, you continue to ask for help. The different choices you have to make come out in every conversation you have. Word vomit, as Lindsay Lohan called it, is your new specialty.

Your whole life feels centered around the life changes you are going to make. Everything becomes a priority so sorting out the most important of them all is seemingly impossible. Once you build yourself up and feel accomplished in one area, you've missed something in another.

Every day you feel knocked down. You wear yourself down by trying to make a choice.

Dealing with anxiety while trying to live the life you've always dreamed of is defeating. After all the hard work you've labored to be where you are your anxiety makes you question if you're actually where you should be.

The truth is, you can't let the worst 'what-ifs' stop you from changing. You can't let your anxiety win.

While seeking for validity in others should work, it doesn't. Acting as if your life revolves around this one choice forces your final decision to feel like the end of the world. Exhausting yourself while trying to fix everything in your world does not allow you to enjoy being in the present.

If your anxiety is weighing on you as you try to move through your life, you will miss out on more good than harm. Trying to make a big life choice is hard. But you can't allow your anxiety to tell you that you aren't in control of your emotions and that your final decision will end up hurting you.

Walking through life expecting the worst will only bring the worst. This is exactly why once you're in a situation where your anxiety feels to be taking control, you have to be the one to put a stop to it.

You have to be the person who decides what happens in your life, not your demons.

While every day will present you with new questions, uncertainties, and emotions, you must try to limit the new thoughts coming into the picture. Because stressing yourself out on the bigger picture, the future 'what-ifs', doesn't help you make a choice right now.

Finding a way to let go of your fears surrounding the situation helps you clear your head. Crossing other important things off your 'to-do' list helps you distract yourself from the anxiety and the situation.

You will find clarity in the chaos once you realize you are the one in control of your decisions, not your anxiety.


Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Featured

15 Mind-Bending Riddles

Hopefully they will make you laugh.

189643
 Ilistrated image of the planet and images of questions
StableDiffusion

I've been super busy lately with school work, studying, etc. Besides the fact that I do nothing but AP chemistry and AP economics, I constantly think of stupid questions that are almost impossible to answer. So, maybe you could answer them for me, and if not then we can both wonder what the answers to these 15 questions could be.

Keep Reading...Show less
Entertainment

Most Epic Aurora Borealis Photos: October 2024

As if May wasn't enough, a truly spectacular Northern Lights show lit up the sky on Oct. 10, 2024

14555
stunning aurora borealis display over a forest of trees and lake
StableDiffusion

From sea to shining sea, the United States was uniquely positioned for an incredible Aurora Borealis display on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, going into Friday, Oct. 11.

It was the second time this year after an historic geomagnetic storm in May 2024. Those Northern Lights were visible in Europe and North America, just like this latest rendition.

Keep Reading...Show less
 silhouette of a woman on the beach at sunrise
StableDiffusion

Content warning: This article contains descriptions of suicide/suicidal thoughts.

When you are feeling down, please know that there are many reasons to keep living.

Keep Reading...Show less
Relationships

Power of Love Letters

I don't think I say it enough...

457570
Illistrated image of a letter with 2 red hearts
StableDiffusion

To My Loving Boyfriend,

  • Thank you for all that you do for me
  • Thank you for working through disagreements with me
  • Thank you for always supporting me
  • I appreciate you more than words can express
  • You have helped me grow and become a better person
  • I can't wait to see where life takes us next
  • I promise to cherish every moment with you
  • Thank you for being my best friend and confidante
  • I love you and everything you do

To start off, here's something I don't say nearly enough: thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart. You do so much for me that I can't even put into words how much I appreciate everything you do - and have done - for me over the course of our relationship so far. While every couple has their fair share of tiffs and disagreements, thank you for getting through all of them with me and making us a better couple at the other end. With any argument, we don't just throw in the towel and say we're done, but we work towards a solution that puts us in a greater place each day. Thank you for always working with me and never giving up on us.

Keep Reading...Show less
Lifestyle

11 Signs You Grew Up In Hauppauge, NY

Because no one ever really leaves.

26476
Map of Hauppauge, New York
Google

Ah, yes, good old Hauppauge. We are that town in the dead center of Long Island that barely anyone knows how to pronounce unless they're from the town itself or live in a nearby area. Hauppauge is home to people of all kinds. We always have new families joining the community but honestly, the majority of the town is filled with people who never leave (high school alumni) and elders who have raised their kids here. Around the town, there are some just some landmarks and places that only the people of Hauppauge will ever understand the importance or even the annoyance of.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments