How to Overcome Avoidance and Embrace Life
Emotions don’t need to be avoided, they need to be understood.
In May 1996, I made a decision based on anxiety that I regret to this day. The story begins two years earlier, during my second year of graduate school, when I was offered a coveted teaching assistantship at my university. The class was Introduction to Psychology, a topic I knew well.
For five semesters, I taught the course and loved it. The subject matter was interesting, the students were fun, and I felt at ease in the classroom. It is among my fondest memories of graduate school. At the end of my second and final year of teaching, the undergraduates nominated me for an award, Student’s Choice for Teacher of the Year. It was the first time in the school’s history that a graduate student was selected for this honor.
I was touched and flattered, but also incredibly anxious because I wasn’t sure I deserved that distinction. How would the faculty feel about a graduate student “stealing” their award? Although I worked hard for my students, I couldn’t imagine that I earned this more than a faculty member. I felt certain someone would realize the mistake as soon as my name was called in the huge auditorium.
As the ceremony approached, the anxiety became so intense that I decided I couldn’t attend…
