If you don't know the history behind my sister's anxiety, she posted about her experience back in 2013 and we've have dived heavily into this mental illness in the past.
Now, anxiety and mental illness like anxiety never completely go away, or at least they don't for most. It's always with them, and even if they're doing well (on medicine, therapy, etc.), it will only take one incident to bring it back full-force. However, my sister has finally found something that has actually allowed her to live her life almost anxiety-free. (Like I said, it's always there.)
When I started running, my sister decided one day to start running with me. She noticed that when she walked/ran with me, her body would relax enough to where she didn't have to worry about anything, but her anxiety was still prevalent. As I started to add tough workouts to my training, she wanted to join me on that as well.
As time went on, her anxiety was no longer a main part of her life. It was like it was on the back-burner finally. So how did it happen so quickly?
She put her heart and soul into losing weight and working out (and fishing) with me that she was able to allow her mind to start focusing on other things than "what could go wrong". There are moments when something would happen and her anxiety would skyrocket, but those moments are very rare, almost once a month, if not less.
She's become more confident and is able to be more social with others, especially my friend, Leigh. She's never given him a hug before and one night when we ran into him at Walmart, she gave him a hug before we left, which surprised both him and me! She talked to him the night the three of us went out for ice cream and she ended up having a lot of fun! (Though I think she was baffled by his personality, which I'm used to. LOL)
It is possible to live a life with anxiety, and it's also possible to get to where anxiety doesn't rule your life. It just takes faith.
Thank you for the post. I need these positive stories right now.
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