You Can Be Anxious AND Have Courage!
Hello there CBT School family!
Welcome to another episode of Your Anxiety Toolkit Podcast focusing on COURAGE. Where is it found? How do we become courageous amidst everything life throws at us? Once have found courage, how do we keep it?
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Consider what it’s like to be courageous or brave in today’s day and age. It comes with huge expectations. If men don’t put on their “brave face” ALL of the time, they run the risk of appearing less “masculine.” Women (and men, too, many times) are expected to look pretty and smile while multi-tasking many challenging things at one. This creates a lot of pressure for society!
To add to this even further, what I call the cherry on top, us humans with anxiety are often expected to keep our anxiety to ourselves and under control WHILE meeting all of the above criteria. Where did this expectation come from?! It is so common for me to hear stories about people struggling with mental health (whether it be anxiety, depression, or something else) who have been told my family members or partners to “toughen up,” “be braver,” or “be stronger through this.” I understand the message that they are trying to get across, but I like to approach courage and bravery with a new and more reasonable perspective. That is what today’s podcast episode is all about!
While it may seem like a juxtaposition or a new idea for you, I think that courage and bravery are things that you can experience WITH anxiety. They go beautifully together because you cannot be brave without having anxiety or fear. We can feel dreadful fear AND be courageous. We can feel overwhelming sadness AND be strong. What people commonly hear about bravery and courage, this idea that we must put on a brave face and toughen up, is all off. It makes us feel like we must not try things until we have no fear and can “hold it together,” which is very limiting for us.
Think about the person who decided to go to the party, despite their tremendous social anxiety. I like to believe that this person is the brave one. I believe that the courageous one is the person who does that really hard thing, even if it is easier for other people. I believe that the brave rock star is the person who has a tear running down their face as they face their fear!
Thank you for supporting me with this podcast and with CBT School’s online courses. I hope you enjoy this episode and begin to challenge your view of what bravery and courage look like.
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Enjoy!
Forward we go,
Kimberley
