Caroline Foran

And I think that's still there to a certain extent.

But then so I didn't take anything.

I tried so hard to like will myself through it, to white knuckle through it, because that's what society preferred and prefers is when you can grid it out on your own.

And I was doing everything I could.

I was doing talking therapy and nothing was meaningfully moving the needle for me.

Like I was I was so, so unwell.

And then what I felt like was the weakest moment, which was actually probably the opposite, was when I.

I remember apologizing to my doctor that I was going to ask the question about medication and feeling her disappointment and judgment, which was like I was I was asking for permission to suffer a little bit less.

And I think people have this misconception that medication means

it's the easy way out or you have to, that is not true.

Like when it comes to the longer term medication, which actually helps anxiety over time, there's nothing addictive about those.

They don't solve all your problems.

Basically, they just took me from a completely frayed, stretched nervous system to one that just felt a little bit better able to cope so that I could then benefit from the breathing exercises and the walks and the changes and the, you know,

lowering my caffeine intake that kind of thing it just took the edge off a little bit it just enabled me to access the tools that are there so that was a huge thing for me but it was by no means the only thing and I still like even when I went on medication and it was definitely making a difference I was still experiencing huge amounts of anxiety I was still capable of having panic attacks but I was in a slightly less horrific I wasn't living in a state of constant like

catastrophe in my mind like where I felt like there was a gun at my head all the time it was just a little bit less than that um so that was a huge huge part of it um and really ultimately I think what changed and why I feel like I can now say I overcame that and I I'm no longer someone who like I don't say I have an anxiety disorder because I don't know that I ever did I just I

I think we are all capable of feeling anxiety, some more than others.

I went through a period of time where it was really intense because of various factors that came together to give rise to it.

And the biggest thing for me is I no longer fear anxiety.

I don't look over my shoulder wondering, oh, it's going to come back and get me because I know it so well.

I'm not afraid of it.