I am putting on my big girl pants and trying out an
“advanced” class at the gym. Sounds
harmless and non-threatening, yet I find myself freaking out. I have been planning to progress from the 2
workouts per week to the advanced rate of 3 per week for about a month. Planning and psyching myself up. This morning, it hit. POW!!! That knot in your stomach (“I don’t
want to do this”) feeling that I can always use as an excuse to delay that
change.
It is not the 3rd class that is the problem, it
is the unknown of what will happen during class. What kind of exercises will we do? How many people are in the class? What if I barf? What if I faint? I could go on and on. What is it about new experiences the really
ratchet up the anxiety for me?
Is it because my life has become so structured to better
meet the needs of a child with Autism and anxiety? Is it because it seems so much easier to just
take the familiar road? To be honest, I
have struggled with the anxiety of the unknown for my entire life. I don’t run 5k’s anymore because I would get
so stressed out before the race that it was not enjoyable. The weeks leading up to a new year in school
cranked up the stress to the boiling point of the “sleepless” nights days
before. I HATE meeting new people. Not the people themselves, but the “newness”
and getting to know you phase.
I am coming to recognize that much of this anxiety comes
from the way I view myself. I have
noticed that I compare myself to other people and somehow find myself
lacking. There are “eyes” everywhere
right? Everyone is looking at me and my
“bulge” of shame and thinking “What a loser!!!”
I am walking up to fill my drink at the local fast food restaurant and
am sure everyone is watching finding fault in the way I fill my cup or my
choice of beverage. I can psych myself
up and say “who cares?” but, the problem
is “I DO!”
I recognize this flaw in myself and the fact that the
anxiety appears to grow each year. I am
working on this. I have to really cling
to the NEW that I have decided to try and really focus and force myself through
the initial experience until the NEW is
routine.
So, choice time. Do I
use the excuse? Or do I put on my big
girl pants and do it anyway? Now that I
am a mother I find that I have to suck it up and do it anyway in many
cases. I am trying to teach my children
to seek out new and exciting experiences and not give up just because it is
uncomfortable. I can look back and draw
on a similar experience that will help.
In this case, I think about the classes I have been taking and how good
I feel when I am done. I picture “Ramon”
(my bulge of shame) melting as I progress and power through each uncomfortable
experience and…
I put on my shoes and head to the gym!!!
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