The Truth

Anxiety is defined as “a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome.”  Anxiety can come from no place in particular and be 100% out of the blue.  A lot of times, people who are overcome with this feeling find that there isn’t always a reason for them to be anxious; it just comes and as much as they would like to, they have absolutely no control over it.

A panic attack is defined as “a sudden feeling of acute and disabling anxiety.”  You see, this is a direct result of your anxiety…if you didn’t know that already! Often times, panic attacks can leave you feeling out of breath, claustrophobic, unable to feel okay in your own skin, in tears over the huge amount of anxiety you’re feeling, alone and in a dark place.  

What you may not know about me is that I struggle with anxiety and as a result of that, deal with sporadic panic attacks.  I can’t speak for all people who deal with this, but from my personal experience I can tell you that anxiety can be prompted by a variety of things, but often time just comes out of nowhere.

This last week left me feeling over anxious for no reason in particular.  Everyone deals with their anxiety in different ways.  Over the past 7 months when I’m faced with anxiety, I have tried my best to turn my focus to my fitness, my nutrition, my overall mental well-being and my Beachbody family to distract my brain from wandering into those dark places.  This week, I really needed to just step back from everything and most everyone-- do some soul searching, reinvent my “why” as it is always changing, work on my goals and reignite my fire and desire within to do what I really love to do…helping others!

I share this with you not because I’m looking for pity and not because I’m making excuses. I share this with you because this is who I really am.  Because I understand what that internal struggle is like.  Because I care enough about you to let you know that I’ve been there before. And that dark and scary place you feel like you can’t escape from sometimes, still haunts me to this day.  Not everyone will understand what this struggle is like but let me tell you, I get it!

I’m feeling so much more refreshed then I was just a few days ago. So, it’s time to get back on the bandwagon, press play and go CRUSH some goals before my Summer vacation is over!!  If I have done nothing more than let you know today that there’s someone else out there who knows your struggle, then I can most certainly say it’s been a successful day. You are NOT alone, I’m here for you!

Until next time, my beautiful friends!

Joany