Anxiety often comes from the inability to control or deal with the things around you. While we cannot always have complete control over our lives, we can control ourselves and how we react to what is happening around us.

I had a conversation with a woman the other day who had been in a minor car accident. She was rear-ended, broke her tail light, and had some damage to her bumper. The other driver admitted fault and they exchanged insurance information. No one was hurt and her car was repairable.

Despite the insignificance of the accident, she was very upset. She kept talking about how she didn’t have time for this. How she didn’t know what to do about the repairs and that it was all too much. She let this little incident break her. She sat telling me about it and crying. All those things are irritating and troublesome and no one wants to take time out to deal with them. However, this issue should not be enough to break a person. 

Had she recognized the situation for what it was and just dealt with it, she would have realized it wasn;t that big of a deal. A call to the insurance company and a rental car for a week would have been the worst of it. However she let the issue build up in her head to something that she didn’t have the power to overcome. I see this often with stress and the unexpected obstacles that life throws at us. If we remember there are always solutions, we can overcome anything. 

You might not always have all the right answers right now, but you can find the answers and solve the problems. Sometimes the answers are hidden and you may need help, but the answers are out there. So, when you go through an ordeal, remember, you have the power to overcome your issues.

Dr. Matt Chalmers