Over the years, there have been many changes. A key part of those changes is understanding what is here to stay. As hard as it is to adapt to them, they simply are what they are. Part of that is learning to let go of old behavior that no longer serves me. Continuing to let myself believe what I used to believe can only make things worse. I allowed myself to think certain things had the ability to happen when they didn’t.

I allowed myself to believe certain things over the years. These beliefs stemmed from phrases and statements that I took to heart too much. They led me to believe they were true when they were not the whole story. They were not actually the factual truth. They were not meant for my consumption. But, my brain, being wired as it was, misled me into believing what I was being led to believe. This resulted in placing hypothetical targets on things that did not need to be.

Changes were made. Things that I had long expected to happen were not happening any longer. I had to accept what was happening in the here and now. That also in some cases wasn’t always easy to accept. Being more mentally lucid brought those things more to reality. It made me see that I had to do more hard work at coping with the things in my life. I had to accept them. My mind wanted to believe that things should have been as they were in the past. Yet that was no longer a reality.

I also needed to understand that I did not have the power to change things. I sometimes acted like a child when I didn’t get what I wanted. I did this out of providing my own comfort. It took learning to cope with things as they caused me stress. I learned that it was perfectly acceptable to ask for help when needed. Whether it was finding a place to calm down or having assistance with tasks assigned to me. Most importantly, I realized that the latitude given to me in the past was no longer guaranteed. Expectations and understandings had to be met. Not doing so had the ability to have consequences that I did not want or need to have.

It took learning and accepting that things that I had long believed were no longer true. I also accepted that what I had been led to believe was not the honest reality. I believed things should have been one way. In reality, they should have been another. This delayed my ability to accept what was. In the end, those things changed for the better. Once things were firmed up for good, they became easier to accept. I recognized what was going to be reality and that it would take coping in my own way.

Anxiety often robs us of so many things. But, it can also teach us to be brave. It shows us that we are capable of doing much more than we allow ourselves to believe. When some of these changes happened, I was hesitant to accept them. As they were put into place, I started to become more accepting. I stopped placing the blame on others and focused on doing what it took to make me a better person.