My turn to stand up and admit that I suffer from social anxiety
I have suffered from low self-esteem and social anxiety for most of my life, it is debilitating and has been preventing me from making the most of my life. Recently I was off sick with work-related stress, mostly because I didn't have the confidence to take control of my situation, my doctor put me on medication, referred me for councelling, and recommended that I read a book "The secret" by Rhonda Byrne. The recommendations for further reading have continued since. I have improved amazingly since finally giving and admitting I have problems. My friends, girlfriend and work colleagues have been amazingly supportive, and what I have found more astounding is the supprt coming from the very people that I perceived to be my biggest problems. My reading has prepared me for a lot of this change and it certainly has helped me bounce back in a way that I could not have ever imagined. I am speaking with confidence and feel a lot happier about my life .. and I know I still have a long way to go.
Tan has a poster (which sits in out bathroom!) with a Max Ehrmann passage quoted on it. For her birthday last year I surreptitiously removed it and had it framed properly for her. I have seen and read this passage many times. Today I read it and I nearly cried. I didn't just read the words, I felt them too.
It is a beautiful world, and we mean so much more to each other than we can ever realise.
Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.
Max Ehrmann, Desiderata, Copyright 1952.
Tan has a poster (which sits in out bathroom!) with a Max Ehrmann passage quoted on it. For her birthday last year I surreptitiously removed it and had it framed properly for her. I have seen and read this passage many times. Today I read it and I nearly cried. I didn't just read the words, I felt them too.
It is a beautiful world, and we mean so much more to each other than we can ever realise.
Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.
Max Ehrmann, Desiderata, Copyright 1952.