tonkaboy
26-10-12, 20:12
This is a question I've asked myself many times - why do I suffer from an anxiety disorder? After all, I'm intelligent, diligent, caring and compassionate. I have achieved a lot in my 46 years, I have a wonderful family, I have a job I find fascinating, working with aircraft, which are a life long passion and I've always been pretty successful at anything I've ever turned my hand to. So why do I feel anxious so much?
I think my anxiety is fueled by feeling of inadequacy - I'm not good enough and I don't believe in my self enough, even though the evidence of my successes are plain for me to see. I find it hard to feel confident.
I think the answer lies in my teenage years - I was very shy as a boy and didn't like to take risks. Asking a girl out was a big deal for me. I've never liked uncertainty and I relied on my parents to sort things out for me when I was challenged. They were very caring parents and allowed me to lean on them. I can't help feeling that their desire to protect me actually fed my lack of confidence. I wish now they had made me stand on my own two feet a bit more. That said, now that I'm a parent, I can appreciate that it's not that simple.
Anxiety is the hardest challenge I've ever faced in my life and I know no one can fix it for me, I have to do it for myself. That doesn't mean I don't accept help, I can and do, but the bottom line is I have to believe in myself if I'm going to beat this thing and that is the hard bit for me. As I think, this stems from over protective parents.
In my own mind, I'm a 46 year old father of two and shouldn't feel like this! Can anyone else relate to what I'm trying to say?
I think my anxiety is fueled by feeling of inadequacy - I'm not good enough and I don't believe in my self enough, even though the evidence of my successes are plain for me to see. I find it hard to feel confident.
I think the answer lies in my teenage years - I was very shy as a boy and didn't like to take risks. Asking a girl out was a big deal for me. I've never liked uncertainty and I relied on my parents to sort things out for me when I was challenged. They were very caring parents and allowed me to lean on them. I can't help feeling that their desire to protect me actually fed my lack of confidence. I wish now they had made me stand on my own two feet a bit more. That said, now that I'm a parent, I can appreciate that it's not that simple.
Anxiety is the hardest challenge I've ever faced in my life and I know no one can fix it for me, I have to do it for myself. That doesn't mean I don't accept help, I can and do, but the bottom line is I have to believe in myself if I'm going to beat this thing and that is the hard bit for me. As I think, this stems from over protective parents.
In my own mind, I'm a 46 year old father of two and shouldn't feel like this! Can anyone else relate to what I'm trying to say?