Jumping over a hurdle, that is 10ft tall.

Anxiety is like running a 100m hurdle race, you've seen all the pro's do it in the Olympics right? 

Anxiety reminds me of this because you see some of the athletes who no matter how hard they train and try to master the technique, there always seems to be one who seems to knock down at least one hurdle. Some then manage to get up and continue to finish the race. And hats off to these people, because you get some athletes who are able to jump over every single hurdle perfectly, some of them have mastered the technique perfectly. 

Cadbury's Creme Eggs 'Hurdles' on Vimeo

Anxiety puts up lots of hurdles in peoples life, not just when you have an important exam or are meeting a date for the first time. That would be easier if that were the case. No, anxiety can make everyday life become full of hurdles. It can make activities that you know you will enjoy a hurdle, it can prevent you from wanting to go out, it can make you say and do things that you don't want to. It is almost like you become two people. Your normal happy self, who sees positively and then your anxious uptight dark side. 

I have been trying to overcome my anxiety by completing lots of challenges. I was told that you have to feel the anxiety in a feared or challenging situation to be able to overcome it, by feeling it you know that after you were fine and can keep pushing yourself. This technique seems to have been working for me. I have been jumping over the hurdles fairly well and steadily. But this morning, I faced my biggest challenge. 

I had previously completed a lot of voluntary work with animals, it had always been a good past time for me and something I felt rewarding and fun. Since moving house and feeling even more anxious, I had stopped looking for things to do, out of fear of failing. But I decided to sign myself up to volunteer at an animal place about 30minutes away. I knew it was going to be hard as I'd never been to that side of town, I'd never done the bus route, never seen the place. I had lots of thoughts and unanswered questions flying round my head. This morning I was supposed to be going for 10AM to have my first day volunteering. The hurdle came up, looking like it was 10ft tall and I nearly walked straight into it. I told myself I had to be able to jump over it and conquer the fear of the unknown. I told my mum I wasn't going to let the anxiety win. And so I took the steps I saw fit, to get myself there. Job done, onto the next hurdle.

“A sum can be put right: but only by going back till you find the error and working it afresh from that point, never by simply going on.” 
― C.S. Lewis