This Too Shall Pass

The end of the school year is fraught with stressors, although intermingled with joy and pride in something completed. We’re ambivalent when graduation comes; sad because childhood is passing, excited with new horizons to explore. Even when everything goes right, transitional periods in life are difficult. When things go wrong during transition, sometimes excruciatingly wrong, the word ‘difficult’ suddenly becomes an inadequate description. Many labels might accurately describe the feelings of the heart in troubled or uncertain times; anxiety is one. Anxiety is a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome, according to Google Dictionary. Mild levels of anxiety are helpful, giving us momentum and increased motivation to try harder to accomplish a goal. Pain awakens anxiety, of necessity, to fuel our vigilance and endurance through a challenging event or period. High levels of anxiety, though, can be stifling. Very high levels of anxiety can impair our ability to think rationally and can even prevent us from doing somethings that might have been very good for us (think of stage fright so severe that the understudy must step in). Anxiety over potential future events or outcomes can become so intense, that if left unchecked, our judgement in general can become affected. We sometimes develop generalized, progressively more intense and distressing feelings of unrest and agitation. Let’s not allow it. Become aware of your own feelings and label your anxiety for what it is. Even speaking your feelings to yourself is affirming and can help put things into perspective. Be proactive with your response to stress and choose a go-to, self-soothing activity when you first realize you’re feeling anxious. Some self-soothing exercises might include controlled, deep breathing, giving yourself a hand or foot massage, taking a walk outside (if possible), listening to calming music (emphasis on calming). Training yourself to respond to anxiety with positive self-ministering can work wonders. After identifying your anxiety and practicing soothing behaviors, take some time to evaluate your thoughts and feelings. This can be done in a few quiet moments of meditation or prayer, and might very well be done in a journal (I strongly encourage this). Ask yourself: Are my thoughts comforting, positive and reality-based? Are they negative, condemning and full of partial truths and fill-in-the-blank suppositions that only serve to escalate my anxiety? If your thoughts are escalating anxiety, change them by writing every evidence you can think of to prove that your distressing thoughts are not completely true. As you regularly do this, the power of negative, anxiety-boosting thoughts will diminish. Anxiety distorts the perception of reality, but you can train to break through that distortion. Remember: In time, this too, shall pass.