Struggling with anxiety is difficult. We might feel alone, or misunderstood. From my personal experiences, I noticed that I’ve always tried to seek out reassurance. It was always about counting on someone else to feel better. This does not only put a lot of pressure on those that are close to you, but it can also lead to disappointment and strains in a relationship. Yes, we want to think that those that love us are able to understand what we are going through, however, the truth is that they probably won’t- and honestly, we shouldn’t feel resentful towards that.

Therapy made it clear to me: I was way too dependent on other people when it came to my anxious feelings. Relying on that false sense of hope, which was brought upon by the reassurance from other people, was making me weaker. I needed to start relying on myself, and myself only. It’s good to be with friends and family in order to get out of a state of anxiety or depression but it is not OK to constantly harp on your problems as you are with them.

So what to do when you are feeeling anxious? How do we make ourselves feel better without having to talk about it, or seek somone else to tell you that you are OK?

Becoming you own best friend

So what do I mean by becoming your own best friend?

A best friend is someone you trust, someone you rely on, someone you feel safe with. If we were to become our own best friends, we could potentially feeel safe whereever we go. Freedom at last!

Dealing with an anxious feeling? Try talking to yourself. The idea is to build a strong, nurturing, reassuring and accepting voice within you so that as time goes by you’ll find it easy to deal with your anxious feeelings in an autonomous manner.

Being self-reliant when dealing with severe anxiety is hard, I know. I particularly don’t like being on my own when facing these feelings. However, becoming your own best friend would give you the opportunity to start becoming more independent, while also learning to be more compassionate and confident with yourself.

With this tool in hand, pushing yourself through difficult situations can possibliy become much more easier than ever before.