How are you living? Are you just holding on with all of your might? Do you feel as if you are standing on your tip toes in the deep end of the pool with the water up to your chin? Are you afraid to relax and stand on your flat feet because you think that you will be engulfed and drown?
You are not alone. There are many others who feel as you do. This is not a sustainable position. It is no way to live. It cannot be maintained forever. Eventually, something undesirable will happen. Over time you may develop high blood pressure and other serious medical conditions.
There are two immediate options; 1.Call for help. If you don’t ask, others, even those right next to you, might not know your situation. 2. Reach out grab ahold of the side of the pool and work your way into shallower water where you can stand at ease.
Once you are safe and out of danger turn your attention to the cause and the reason you found yourself in the deep end just holding on, holding up, and trying to bear up.
How did you get in over your head? What happened? Some sort of stress either recent or long-standing must have triggered your response. It is probably a fear of some kind. It could go all the way back to your childhood. Perhaps there were spoken or unspoken expectations placed on you by others and you developed a fear of failure, and of letting others down. Perhaps you placed these expectations on yourself.
Whatever the fear, you will have to identify it, work on it and remove it from your life. This is not always simple. It may be ingrained in your personality. Letting go of a fear that has been part of you can feel very threatening especially if it has been your driving force. However, it is something that you must learn to do to survive.
Patricia Frank is Licensed Psychotherapist. She can be reached at 305- 788-4864, Psychotherapy.a2z@gmail.com
