Living in Confinement

Have you ever tried to paint in between lines? Well if you haven’t let me tell you it’s incredibly hard and at times frustrating because you need to suspended the idea of perfection. It takes extreme amount of practice, fine motor skills and attention to detail to perfect this art and even then, it may not be as perfect as you would like it to be.

Just as I was doing this mindfulness practice (painting in between lines) today I was thinking of my clients. How most of my clients who suffer from anxiety and depression usually tell me in one form or another that they were raised in the confinement of well defined lines. The strict rules and regulations that they had to adhere to as a child brought them extreme amounts of fear and anxiety. They were unable to really be who they wanted to be. They had to act a certain way, behave a certain way, be a certain way to be accepted and liked by their primary care takers. As they grew older they continued that pattern into their work and family life. They didn’t question it, they didn’t oppose it. They just did what they needed to do to be liked and accepted by others because that’s all they knew.

So here are my questions to anyone who suffers from extreme anxiety, have you ever questioned or wondered why as an adult do you need to live in the confinements of the walls that you no longer need to live in? Have you ever wanted to break those walls down and didn’t know how? Do you ever feel like you just want this feeling of anxiety inside of you to stop and desperately tried to seek ways in which you could stop it?

Well if your seeking answers and don’t know how to manage your anxiety consult with a licensed counsellor to help you. I recently said to one of my clients don’t run away from your anxiety instead befriend it, because the more you run away from it the more it chases you and the more it chases you the more anxious you feel. Rather notice it, question it and learn to befriend it.