“Anxiety is not a flaw. It’s a response. And responses can soften.”
Anxiety will tell you you’re weak.
That something inside you is wrong — defective, fragile, unworthy of peace.
But that’s not the truth.
You are not broken.
You are carrying more than most people see.
Your body is doing exactly what it was designed to do: detect threat, react, protect.
But somewhere along the way, the alarm got stuck. It started going off when there was no danger.
That doesn’t make you defective. It makes you sensitive. Aware. Tender in a world that often forgets how to hold tenderness.
So what if, today, you stop fighting yourself?
What if you whispered instead: *Thank you for trying to protect me. But I’m safe now.*
Let that be the beginning of a new relationship — not with anxiety, but with yourself.
One that says: I trust you’re healing. Even if it’s slow. Even if it’s messy. Even if no one else sees it yet.
Sit or lie down and place a hand over your heart. Breathe slowly and say: 'I am not broken. I am healing.' Repeat gently, as often as you need.
Notice when your inner voice turns harsh today. Interrupt it with something kinder: 'I’m doing the best I can. And that is enough.'
Caleb J. “This was the first time anyone told me there was nothing wrong with me. I cried reading it. That shift — from shame to self-compassion — opened a door I didn’t know was there.”
You are not your anxiety. You are the one learning to meet it with love.