Then Jesus turned to the Jews who had claimed to believe in him. “If you stick with this, living out what I tell you, you are my disciples for sure. Then you will experience for yourselves the truth, and the truth will free you.” John 8:32 (The Message)
I recently spoke with a client about her anxiety. It had been exacerbated over the past few years by a domestic violence scenario whereby she had to be in a heightened state of alertness to protect herself and her young children. She has been out of that marriage for a couple of years, but she still states that she “overthinks things” and cannot sleep well. Little things are blown out of proportion, and she has a hard time not seeing herself as “damaged goods”.
I pointed out to her that her anxiety, at one time, served a somewhat protective service for her. She was hyperalert and vigilant in the past because she had to be for herself and her children. It was protective. Now that state of vigilance and hyper-alertness was causing problems. It was affecting other areas of her life.
After some discussion, she was able to see that she tended to project her own feelings onto others, believing that she was not accepted or acceptable. She had trouble accepting positive feedback, because her anxiety always “whispered to her” that she was inadequate and somehow broken.
The truth is that she is amazingly resilient, courageous, and very successful in her career. She is gradually being able to hear the truth about herself, and that is a wonderful thing to behold.
Prayer: Lord, help us to see things in us that others do- that you do-
Amen
Reflections of a Counselor 