My favorite public figure to blame my anxiety on

What if you were independent of the outer world as your primary source of satisfaction?

What if you were not burdened by the weariness of all those externally generated demands?

Calm and content, that’s what you would be.

Imagine if your mechanism of fulfillment was your own. It would become this priceless possession nobody could take away from you. It would become lever you could pull to transform your world, even the one around you was crumbling into bits.

My friend has been a psychotherapist for about seven years now. And my burning question to her was:

How have the problems your clients come to you with changed since you first started?

She told me the biggest shift, bar none, was the widespread emotional consequence of politics on people’s psyches. Helplessness, hopelessness, these are just a few of the common psychological challenges afflicting her clients.

Doesn’t that sound awful? If you’ve ever been plagued with those kinds of feelings before, you know it doesn’t get much worse than that, from a mental health perspective.

And yet, there’s still an unpopular question worth asking:

If you seek counseling because the agitated state of national politics is causing strain in your mind and relationships, who’s fault is that?

Understandably, there are hourly media uproars galloping into your inner life through every device. And statistically, there is direct a connection between stress levels and electronic news consumption. The constant exposure to potentially distressing information and the resulting physical symptoms are very real forces to contend with.

But it also depends on your ability to set boundaries.

Colona, the executive coach to the stars, asks his clients the following question:

How you are complicit in creating the conditions in your life you say you don’t want?

It’s quite the confrontational poke. Something most of us don’t want to face.

But following his line of thinking, perhaps the greatest enemy you face is not the narcissistic politician screaming through your screen. It’s the voice inside your head telling you that something outside our head is the reason you feel the way you feel.

If somebody who’s crazy is making you crazy, then you are the loser. But if you own the source of satisfaction, nobody can steal our peace. 

Look, therapy is a deeply meaningful experience, one that transformed my own relationship with my mind. And if you believe that process is going to help you feel more fulfilled, then by all means, get your butt on that couch.

Just be honest with yourself about why you’re there in the first place. 

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
Who is your favorite public figure to blame your anxiety on?