Making Peace Happen

“ I shifted my mindset and became determined to make peace happen and maintain that peace instead of waiting for peace to happen to me.”

By Autumn Wingate

Ignoring the Signs

I know the frustration that comes from stress and anxiety. It doesn’t always feel “logical,” and the panic and fear (though temporary in the moment) seem like they have a grip on you that won’t ever let go.

A typical day for me was dreading getting out of bed because the anxiety symptoms already started to surface before my feet even hit the floor. The racing thoughts would start. The chest pain would take over. The tears would start streaming down my face.

That was my life off and on for years. I felt like I was stuck in a never-ending stress cycle. The stress and anxiety would get to be too much for me to handle, and I would have a meltdown.

My body would cue me in that something was wrong, that something needed to change. But I would just try to ignore the stress in hopes it would go away.

My body fought back and went into survival mode. I would violently convulse as a means of “escape.” To others, it looked like I was having seizures, and it was a scary and embarrassing situation all around. Various times I would be wheeled out of work by paramedics and would feel the stares and concern from my coworkers and bosses at different places I worked.

I was in serious denial for years. I would tell myself the seizures weren’t due to stress. But they were. Along with the other symptoms I experienced.

I hated to admit it. But stress had taken over my life.

Making a Shift from Stress Cycle to Serene Living

I didn’t know where to even begin to actually overcome my problems and change my life once and for all. That was one of the most frustrating things for me.

Change didn’t happen until I got honest with myself and took a look at the different parts of my life that I knew deep down needed to change. From there, I realized I had to accept responsibility for letting myself get to that point. Where I was at in life was because of choices I made and neglecting my health.

When I started creating moments of joy, becoming more intentional about how I live my life and taking better care of myself, things started to turn around. The drastic changes in my stress level really started to occur when I focused on my faith and made my relationship with Jesus more of a priority.

Finally Free

Does anxiety and stress still creep up? Yes, every so often. But they don’t rule my life anymore. I shifted my mindset and became determined to make peace happen and maintain that peace instead of waiting for peace to happen to me.

Change can happen. But it means you just have to evaluate where you’re at and make a plan to create sustainable life changes. You just need to start.