Anxiety is a Liar

Three years ago, I wrote this piece on anxiety and the lies it tells. May these words find you, when you need them…

The thing is, your anxiety cannot tell your future. It cannot predict the outcome. It tells you it can, but it cannot. Anxiety pretends to know. Anxiety pretends that fear should be avoided, and control is necessary. Because under the guise of control, we think we cannot feel hurt, that we cannot feel pain. When in reality, we cannot move forward, if we let anxiety dictate through fear. It shows up like the loud mouthed know-it-all we used to encounter on the playground. It tells us to run and hide. It tells us we aren’t good enough, smart enough, worthy enough. In relationships, it tells untruths and adds distance and harm. In jobs, it stunts and holds back.

In life, IT LIES.

But its feelings and emotions are very real. Remember, the next time your anxiety speaks louder than your heart and your center of being, remember it does *not* know all. Despite its loud professions of truth, it does not know all. And it cannot predict the outcome. Its promises of protections are not promises at all. They are untruths rooted in fear and the unwillingness to wander into the depths of maybe, certain ‘maybe’ is a bad thing.

Next time your anxiety says, ‘what if…’, answer back, “YES, WHAT IF…”.

Because ‘maybe’ is a chance you’re willing to take; there is growth and hope in the ‘maybe’. And it’s okay to have faith that even if it doesn’t work out, you’ll be okay. You’ll survive. Because you always do.