Ready for some more anxiety success stories? Because Nicole's story is nothing short of a success! And in this episode of the podcast, you'll get to meet Nicole! Nicole is a former Panic to Peace student with an amazing story to tell. Not only has Nicole come so far in her anxiety recovery journey, but she also shares how she's worked through the guilt, shame, and resentment that built throughout her 13-year struggle with panic and agoraphobia.
Nicole's experience with anxiety is slightly different than some of the anxiety success stories we've covered previously. Her mom has struggled with panic and agoraphobia for most of her life, which made Nicole even more terrified of becoming housebound. Despite how difficult the anxiety and panic were for her, she did everything in her power to make sure she kept getting out of the house. And as we continue on with her story, you're going to realize how awesome and courageous Nicole is! So let's talk about some of my favorite parts of our conversation.
Anxiety Success Stories: Nicole's Journey
When the People-Pleasing Tendencies Backfire
Like so many of us, Nicole spent the majority of her life caring about everyone around her, completely forgetting about what she needed. If you're struggling with anxiety, this probably sounds familiar! During our conversation, Nicole said: "I was just filling everybody else's cup. So long as I filled everybody else's cup, I felt good. I felt like I was being this good friend, this good daughter, a good girlfriend, and later into this good wife, this good mom...I was just filling all of these cups. And mine was so empty. I had no idea how to fill my own cup because I had already disconnected so long ago."
When we are constantly shifting our focus and care onto the people around us, it can be really hard to remember to care for ourselves! With time and lots of healthy action, Nicole learned that it was okay to do things for herself. In fact, it was a big part of her healing! She mentioned that when she started doing the hard work for herself, not for anyone else, it was really empowering. And I couldn't agree more!
Learning to Stop Running From the Uncomfortable Parts of Yourself
Nicole shared some of the safety behaviors she had in order to prevent herself from feeling anxiety, and how she learned to recognize that they weren't helping her. She told me that one day, instead of worrying about what other people thought of her, she shifted her focus onto what she thought about herself. And it was a huge gamer changer for her! This mindset shift allowed her to drop so many of these safety behaviors without ever looking back. Because Nicole knew that when she left those unhelpful behaviors behind, she would be one step closer to the best version of herself.
How Nicole Learned to Be Vulnerable With Her Support System
I think that so many of us who struggle with anxiety, panic, and agoraphobia do everything in our power to hide it from the people around us. We might act like nothing is wrong, or avoid situations where we might feel anxious around other people altogether! And for Nicole, she spent a lot of her time hiding her anxiety and panic from her kids. Remember when I mentioned that Nicole's mom also experienced panic and agoraphobia? Well, Nicole was scared that if her kids knew about her struggles, they might resent her in the way she resented her own mom.
Recently, Nicole realized that being vulnerable with her kids would ultimately let them see just how strong and courageous she is. I can't think of a better role model than that! When we start to be vulnerable with the people we know we can trust, we take so much pressure off of ourselves.
This is only a small piece of what Nicole and I talked about, so you'll want to make sure you tune in to the full episode to hear all about her amazing story! In the episode, Nicole shares some of the ways that my program, Panic to Peace, has helped her start to create a healthy relationship with anxiety. So until next time, friend, keep taking healthy action!