Your Best Frenemy

We all have that one friend. You know, the one who you've known for years and who persistently 'zings' you with backhanded compliments, questions your life choices and leaves you with a niggling feeling of self-doubt. That one person who is guaranteed to keep pushing your buttons until you can't tolerate it anymore, but for some reason you just can't sever ties with them. They're your frenemy. The thought of confronting them about their behaviour is infinitely more stressful than putting up with their shit. You know that breaking up with them would stir up monumental amounts of aggravation and heartache. So you suck it up. 

Well, think of anxiety as your best frenemy. You spend all day with Anxiety, listening to her spout bullshit about the way you look, the way you act, your friendships, your career and your life in general. You expend a huge amount of energy on your relationship with Anxiety, far more than you get in return. Spending time with her leaves you exhausted and tearful, wracked with uncertainty and despair, yet you just can't shake her. Anxiety is a limpet. She just won't let go. And for some reason you just can't end your relationship. You know in your heart of hearts that you'd be much better off without her, but her presence has become reassuring. Those soft whispers telling you that you're not good enough and that the sky is about to fall on your head have been your soundtrack for so long that the thought of quieting them seems too daunting. Anxiety just continues to lurk, feeding off your insecurities and reinforcing them with her 'helpful' advice, logging her opinions in her Burn Book and sharing them with you at regular intervals. In short, Anxiety is a total bitch.

Well, let me tell you something. You don't need Anxiety. It's time to put that bitch in her place. Let's face it, if a real person treated you the way Anxiety does you'd have kicked them to the kerb a long time ago. So why should this relationship be any different? 

It might seem like an insurmountable feat, but it is possible to live without being ruled by anxiety. I won't promise you 'a life free from anxiety': that little sucker is still going to stick around and rear her ugly head from time to time, but you can keep her in her place. It takes time, patience, self-love and a lot of help and it's worth every difficult moment. How you choose to do it will be personal to you and there are many avenues available to you. But it all starts with one sentence: "We need to break up".