healing journey – The Hope Antidote

Choose Your Hard

We all know someone who thinks they have it worse than everyone else. The complainer. Maybe it’s a friend of ours, or a coworker, or a relative, or (yikes) maybe it’s us. The negative Nancy, the person who always has an ache or a pain to whine about, the person who never sees the glassContinue reading “Choose Your Hard”

I forgot what it felt like to feel normal

I had learned to live with my anxiety. It wasn’t the monster it once was, but it was there, never letting me relax completely. I was coping with it, functioning, at least from the outside. I thought maybe this was as good as it was going to get, which wasn’t so bad. Sure, it suckedContinue reading “I forgot what it felt like to feel normal”

When I Fell Apart

Just like anyone who’s ever lived, I’ve had my share of struggles. Most of mine, maybe all of mine, have fear at the root of them. It’s always been the thorn in my side and there have been periods of my life where fear and anxiety have lain dormant and other times where they’ve comeContinue reading “When I Fell Apart”

Changed for the Better

“See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.” – Isaiah 48:10 When I was in the thick of it, when my anxiety was at it’s very worst, when I felt tortured by my own thoughts, I could not see the light. I could not seeContinue reading “Changed for the Better”

The Illusion of Normal

For years I believed there was something wrong with me. I can’t quite pinpoint when this thought started, but I suspect it was sometime in early childhood, probably due to some combination of a variety of factors including my sensitive disposition, moving between two drastically different cultures, a traumatic experience at boarding school, and beingContinue reading “The Illusion of Normal”

Light Breaks Through

I believe everyone struggles with something. It’s part of the human condition. Fear just happens to be mine. It is my greatest struggle. Always has been. I am someone who suffers from anxiety. I am also someone who has tried to hide the fact that I struggle with anxiety. Most acquaintances don’t know this hasContinue reading “Light Breaks Through”