mental health matters: conquering the fears that keep us from living

* disclaimer, this was originally written in 2019. however, i think the content of the post applies to a lot of what is going on now.

i spent a long time living in fear and letting that fear take control parts of my life. i didn't get my drivers license until i was 21 and didn't start actually driving until well into my 22nd year. there was a persistent, ever-present fear that some harm would come my way - i would get into an accident and wind up paralyzed, or i would accidentally hurt - or worse, kill - someone, or i myself would wind up dead. it was an ever present fear that took over my life until i was forced to reckon with it. and in that, i think i learned something very, very valuable.


anxiety and depression so often keep us from living our lives and achieving even the most minute of goals. our minds convince us that we are physically incapable or restricted from doing the simplest tasks. i spent years living in fear of taking control of a car - aka a "a speeding metal death trap."

what i failed to realize was that living in fear was actually doing me a disservice. i was missing out on something that would give me a sense of freedom and control that i had been lacking for years. by giving into the things my mind was convincing me of, i missed out on something that makes me truly happy.

with that being said, anxiety (and other mental health issues) isn't something that someone can just "get over." it's not that easy right off the bat - or ever. getting to the point where i could silence my fears and take the leap took a lot of time, a lot of therapy, and a lot of pressure. but i've found that giving into that pressure and letting myself take the leap introduced me to something really, really wonderful.

when it comes to conquering the fears that keep us from living, it's about allowing ourselves to deal with the reality that we may fail. but taking the risk is worth it. not succumbing to our insecurities and fears but instead empowering ourselves to take risks is one of the best forms of self-care that i can recommend. when brainstorming goals for either the coming month or the coming year, i urge you to push yourself to take risks and, in doing so, start living just a little bit more.


- a.