My shoes are never where I leave them.
This picture is actually a little misleading. Balto is the one that steals my shoes and carries them all over the house. Blossom just happened to sit beside this one and use it as a pillow.
So the title...yes, I am in therapy. I decided to go to a therapist because after all of these years, I'm tired of being afraid to fly on a plane or drive across a big bridge. I also get very nervous driving on the interstate. Praise God my company's insurance policy covers "behavioral therapy" 100% with no co-pay and no maximum! After doing a little research, I settled on Debbie Breen. I knew after my first session that she was the therapist I had waited my whole life for.
I have no doubt that God put Debbie in my life at this exact time for a reason. The day after our first session, Mom called in the middle of the night to say we needed to take Dad to the Emergency Room. You can read the rest of the story in my previous posts. Debbie has walked me through every step of this season. Her insight and advice has been priceless and I have learned so much. During this season, I have found that I am a lot stronger than I ever imagined I was and, I am gaining the tools and confidence to handle life's unexpected bumps.
To help conquer my Social Anxiety and help me gain confidence, Debbie is going to have me join Toastmasters and give a speech in front of a group of people. At first, just the thought of giving a speech was causing my heart to race and my brain to feel dizzy. Driving home from her office I decided, "Why the heck not???" I'm so tired of being afraid of everything. I want to stand up to my biggest fears and punch them in the face. Bring on the fear...I'm going to give that speech! It might not be a very good speech and I'll probably sweat out of my head but I will stand there and I will be brave.
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9
Back when I worked as a librarian, a colleague joined Toastmasters. He enjoyed it a lot! If you have never done any public speaking it should do wonders for your self-esteem. It sounds like Debbie is doing a job with you. Stick with it!
ReplyDeleteI have not done ANY public speaking since I was in middle school. One of the reasons I dropped out of college was b/c I refused to take the speech class that I was required to take. I'm sure it won't be pretty but, I'm going to do it. I'm so tired of running from fear!!! :-)
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