Fear Of The Unknown

When it comes to anxiety and depression – although they’re often mentioned in the same breath – the thought processes and patterns are on different ends of the spectrum.

Depression, for instance, tends to be rooted in the past … thoughts and feelings stemming from what has happened in our lives that we regret, feel guilty about, wish we could have changed and/or cannot let go of.

Anxiety, on the other hand, is a future-oriented emotion … anticipating or “pre-viewing” the future induces anxiety largely because the future is intrinsically uncertain.  In other words, anxious thoughts and feelings arise from not knowing what the future holds, the fear of the unknown and an inability to TRUST THE PROCESS.

This one is a REALLY hard one for most people.

This has been a long year, and there have been many ups and downs.  Whether you realize it or not, we all have grieved this year.  We – ourselves included – have gone through (or better said, are going through) the 5 stages of grief this year due to COVID-19, which has ruined our best-laid plans … toppled over our structure … ripped away our figurative teddy bears … and in many cases, stripped us of our identities, turning us into people we no longer recognize…

That’s right, grief (and its 5 stages) doesn’t only occur when mourning the loss of a loved one.  Grief is the internal feeling (or feelings) one faces when they react to loss, which we have all undoubtedly experienced as COVID-19 uprooted many aspects of our lives.  Some call this COVID-grief.

So what stage are we in?

We are in the stage of depression. (The good news, though, is that acceptance is the next, and final, stage.)  We’re not sure if you have felt it or are feeling it right now, but we have.  For instance, this is typically our FAVORITE time of year, so it is hard to understand why we’re feeling a bit blue.  Yes, we have many tools to combat the feelings.  But we are also HUMAN.

Becoming aware of your feelings and naming those feelings is great place to start.  And please know you are not alone!

Because there is so much in our lives that we don’t control, we encourage you to try your best to trust the process.  Meaning, let your guard down and allow life to happen as it will.  We know, we know, this is so much easier said than done.  So, start small.

Try waking up each day and giving permission to life, the universe or a higher power to let the day unfold as it is meant to.  For instance, you might wake up each morning and say, “God, what do you have for me today?”  Then, let the day happen as it needs to.  It is not easy to do, but with practice, it makes the fear of the unknown a little less intense.

Try your best to let go of unrealistic expectations and enjoy the people and moments that really matter.

To Better Health,
Change That Up!