Yesterday when I got home from work, I was greeted at the door by my husband. The first thing he said was, "you made it through a whole work day? That's so awesome!" I was very proud of myself too, that was the first time in two weeks that I had survived an 8 hour day at work. We sat on the couch and we were talking about the day, and he asked how I was planning on keeping up with my success and how I was going to continue making it through my 8 hour work days. I shrugged, because quite honestly I don't know how I got through that full work day in the first place. Then this is the story he told me:
"Right now you are fighting a battle against an enemy, and that enemy is your anxiety and panic. You can't go into battle unprepared, you need to know what you're fighting and you need to have the proper weapons and tools. You wouldn't send an inexperienced peasant into battle with whatever he might have on his farm, right? No, you need to be a Knight - prepared, and trained with the proper tools. So, what are your tools in this battle?"
I answered, "deep breathing exercises, positive self-talk, muscle relaxation..."
"Ok, good. But you don't practice those very often. Your deep breathing wont work for you in the midst of a panic attack if you haven't been practicing, the same as giving a sword to someone who's never used one before and expecting them to defend themselves with it. So if you want to get better and win this battle you need to practice. The only way you can become a Knight is with practice, and the only way you're going to defeat the enemy is by becoming a Knight".
I immediately grabbed my notebook and wrote down that story, after he had finished telling it, and now I have it in my purse with me and on my computer screen at work. I hope you like the story and I hope it can help be a light for you when you need it. Thanks for reading!
Spartan
