Two Big Contributors of Anxiety

I don’t usually share the content of my weekly emails with anyone but my email subscribers, but last week’s email resonated with so many people and I know that it’s a message that many need to hear. And if you’re on my email list, keep reading! Some of this will be familiar but I am diving in a little deeper.

My first experience with anxiety was when I was about 7-years-old and it’s one of the most vivid memories that I have as a child. I was on a school field trip and we went to a local farm to learn how maple syrup is made (yup, such a New England thing).

I remember standing in a field, feeling nauseous and just not myself, and feeling a tingling sensation jolt through my body that went from my head to my toes. I had no idea what was happening at the time but I was so scared. I remember frantically searching for my teacher. Once I found her and told her that I didn’t feel good, she reassured me that I’d be okay and she held my hand and walked me back to the farm store and sat with me until the rest of the class came back. I remember feeling so embarrassed!

It was after this anxious moment that I started to notice that I dreaded rides on the school bus, field trips, and school itself. And what I dreaded most was the feeling that I felt that day, the feeling of not being in control.

Let’s face it, experiencing anxiety as a child is absolutely terrifying. You have no idea what’s happening, you don’t have the skills to process the feelings and emotions, and you don’t have the communication skills to share what you’re struggling with. And it wasn’t until I was in my mid-twenties that I began to understand why I struggled with anxiety, panic disorder, and agoraphobia.