Anxiety

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Advice and Updates to My Teenage Self From My 31- and 40-Year-Old Self

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I was digging through some old notes a few weeks ago and came across two lists I wrote back in 2014. I labeled the first as “some of the things I would love to tell teenagers today,” but if I’m being honest with myself, it’s a list of things I wish I could have gone back in time to tell myself when I was younger. The second is simply labeled “I don’t have all the answers,” and I think it’s a list I made thinking about my present and possible future.

I was 31 at the time I wrote these lists and wanted to share them, along with some thoughts in bold.

When It Rains, It Rains: Dealing with Anxiety on Days Full of the Unexpected

Usually, my period is what throws my week for a loop. But since that was last week’s hassle, I started the week with an optimistic outlook. On Tuesday night I finished up my work, made a quick list of things I wanted to get to the next day, and went to bed with this all-too-smug feeling that I was finally on top of my game.

My smugness was short-lived when my 4-year-old woke me up early the next morning announcing every parent’s nightmare — he didn’t feel well. You’d think after three (3!!!) colds in the last six weeks, I’d be used to this, but this one felt like it was going to be the one that made me crack and completely lose it.