There’s no such thing as easy courage. If there were, it wouldn’t be considered courage at all. This may seem like an obvious statement, but it wasn’t obvious to me for a long time. In my mind, courage and bravery came easier to others than it ever would for me. I would watch people giveContinue reading ““Easy” Courage”
Author Archives: Stephanie Coder
Message over Discomfort
I’ve mentioned this before, but anxiety, for years, has been an incredible source of shame for me. It was my silent struggle, the thing that made me feel weak, not good enough, deeply flawed. I so wanted to appear confident, unafraid, capable and just normal. My struggle with anxiety, often debilitating anxiety, was my deep,Continue reading “Message over Discomfort”
The Diagnosis
F41.1. GAD, or, Generalized Anxiety Disorder. It’s a helpful code for medical professionals, for insurance companies, maybe for Therapists. It’s not the most helpful code for the person being diagnosed. At least it wasn’t for me. When my anxiety got really bad, right after my wedding, I remember telling the Doctor that I thought itContinue reading “The Diagnosis”
The Weird Symptoms
Heart racing, dizziness, sweaty palms, nausea, heightened senses, feeling like you’re losing your mind or about to die – unpleasant to say the least, but these are some of the symptoms that most people think of when they think of anxiety. The more “common” ones, if you will. That’s not to say that they don’tContinue reading “The Weird Symptoms”
Climbing Beehive
My palms were sweating. My whole body was tense. I was hyperventilating. I couldn’t catch my breath. My heart was beating so loud I could hear it in my ears. I could actually feel the adrenaline and cortisol coursing through my veins. My hands shook. I cursed. I prayed. I cried. I took a deepContinue reading “Climbing Beehive”
The Powerful “I Can’t”
I say the words, “I can’t” far too often. Even if I don’t always voice them out loud I certainly think them plenty. Whenever I watch TV shows or movies with a survivalist theme I am the first one to think/say, “I would die,” or, “I could never,” or just, “Nope.” It’s actually become aContinue reading “The Powerful “I Can’t””
Scripture to Combat Anxiety
I was raised Christian but it wasn’t until my struggle with intense anxiety that I really learned to cling to and lean on my faith. That’s when it became deeply personal. Though I had been through struggles with anxiety before, it was my junior year of high school when I had my first panic attack.Continue reading “Scripture to Combat Anxiety”
Double Footed Landings
I used to be a figure skater. Actually, a pretty good one. I started in Thailand, of all places, in the heat of the tropics. Sometimes the rink would have an inch of water on top of the ice but it didn’t matter because I loved skating more than anything. I had a Russian coachContinue reading “Double Footed Landings”
Powerful Anti-Anxiety Quotes
I am a word person and I love me a good quote. My Pinterest page is made up of many things, but by far, the majority of my pins are quotes. Words are meant to move us, to evoke emotion, to challenge our ways of thinking. Words have been a powerful tool for me inContinue reading “Powerful Anti-Anxiety Quotes”
Maggie
I have a dog. Her name is Maggie. I also have a dog named Molly, but this post is solely about Maggie, and you’ll soon see why. A little bit about Maggie. She’s a beagle mix. She’s a rescue from Alabama. She’s nine years old. She’s brown and white and has little speckled spots onContinue reading “Maggie”
The Hope Antidote 