When I have intrusive thoughts or feel anxious, it’s not important to me to try to rid myself of them anymore either. I no longer feel the need to repeat sayings in my head, such as ‘I accept this’, hoping that if I believed it enough, then this awful thing would go away.

heal. Previously, I used to wake up and monitor how I felt and spend all day trying to do something about it. I finally accepted that when I woke, I would feel tired and anxious, my mind would probably race and that I would feel odd and detached for most of the day. I would not ignore it or pretend to like it, but for once I was not going to try an

Worrying basically comes down to wanting one’s life to go perfect and to fit into your ideal of what should and should not happen;

I didn’t feel so self-aware because of anxiety; I felt so self-aware because I had spent months on end obsessing about me and how I was feeling.

If I learnt one valuable lesson, it is that we were never put on this earth to suffer and that suffering is our alarm call. It is telling us that what we are doing is not serving us in life and that a change is needed.

also believe that striving for acceptance of this condition can also become a battle in itself. As soon as I let go and started to live alongside these feelings without any effort to get rid of them, the acceptance of my condition came to me automatically and there was no need for any sayings or mantras.

If you are a constant worrier, perfectionist or think that life should always follow your rules and get stressed if it doesn't, then a real change is needed.

you will never get better until you stop trying to get better”

It is a self-created condition that is mainly brought on by long-term stress and worry and is your mind and body’s way of telling you that it has been overworked. Your body is trying to communicate with you and tell you to slow down and take things easy.