Anxiety is not a diagnosis

I know the title of this email could be a bit triggering, but hear me out.

I don’t say anxiety isn’t a diagnosis to diminish the impact it can have on you and your life. It can be totally debilitating (I know having lived in it for years).

When we see it as a diagnosis though, we see it as something that’s ‘wrong’ with us.

Everyone experiences anxiety at some point in their lives and that’s because anxiety is an emotion, not an illness.

Our emotions are always trying to help us, to communicate with us, to give us a message. Anxiety’s message is normally to warn us of danger, it’s trying to keep us safe.

If you’re someone who experiences anxiety a lot more than others, it’s probably because you don’t feel safe. You don’t feel safe being you or in this world.

All of that can change. You can build that feeling of safety, you can change how you see the world and you can change how you see you.

Take care, Jo xx