Oh, just talking about change can be anxiety producing. Fortunately, or unfortunately, having some anxiety is a natural response to adapting in our personal lives.
How did you get here?
Even before we learn to talk, we begin developing coping methods to deal with the lives we’re born into. If we experience happy, loving relationships as children, we form secure attachments and learn to connect easily with other people. We also learn to value ourselves and what we can accomplish.
But when we face abuse, neglect, trauma, disorder or dysfunction, we develop behavior patterns to protect us from hurt or disappointment. Instead of learning to build regular healthier connections, we can build barriers and limited ways of surviving. And that makes it much more difficult to get our needs met regularly and feel in control of our lives.
So how do you begin to make healthy changes?
It takes building trust, setting a realistic pace and limits, mobilizing a desire for change and building a counseling process that is designed for you.
While there is a risk of experiencing negative feelings as you navigate the road ahead, there is also much room for hope.
When you make a commitment to change, you can begin to discover the inherent resilience and underlying strengths that got you where you are today.