Anxiety, Contentment and a Story of Happiness

This past year has been a pretty big one around our house.

We moved.

The younger girls changed schools.

My oldest daughter moved out of state and his daughter started college.

I have battled severe depression and social anxiety disorder.

It all sounds a bit stressful when you put it in writing. It has been, but I think we have learned a lot.

We've learned that you can sit in the middle of an empty living room and choose 11 different paint colors for the interior of the house in less than a half an hour and actually love how the house turns out.

We've learned that playing hide-and- seek in the dark is way fun around here.

The biggest thing that all of us have learned is that we are a family. An odd, slightly crazy, blended family, but we can count on each other. I think we knew this before, but this move has solidified that fact. We can all come home and know that we are safe and that we are loved.

 I can't speak to what else the rest of the family has learned as individuals because I don't want to put words in their mouths, (like that has ever stopped me!) but I can tell you what I have learned.

I have learned that there are both good and bad anxiety and how to tell the difference. Bad anxiety is when you have to leave your cart in the grocery store because you're pretty sure the panic attack you are having is going to kill you.  The good kind is the low level anxiety that you feel when you are starting something good. When you are pushing yourself out of your comfort zone and into the awesomeness that awaits.

However, the most important thing I have learned it what it feels like to be content. I have found that contentment feels like the happiness that everyone always seems to be chasing. It is loving the life that you live and continuing to grow and learn. Finding contentment in everyday life is so much more enjoyable than always looking for the next thing to happen.

I know that there will be times when my bad anxiety flares up and that sadness and stress are a part of life, but I have the tools I need to help me make it through.

Have you had any life changing or anxiety producing events in your life lately? How have you learned from them?

Be content!