My name is Sarah and this blog is my little way of sharing my pursuit of the abundant life (see John 10:10) while coping with clinical anxiety.
Creating this blog was a hard choice to make. Writing and typing are two of my passions and I’ve wanted to get back into blogging ever since I discontinued my last one years ago but I also wanted to type with a purpose. Anxiety is not exactly the purpose I thought I’d choose but that’s exactly why I am determined to do it.
Mental illness is such a hidden suffering. According to NAMI, millions of Americans alone suffer from mental illnesses daily, while only thousands of them are dedicated to improving their lives. I’ve had excruciatingly painful experiences of anxiety and it’s only through a significant amount of therapy, hard work, incredible support from family and friends, prayer, sharing with others, courage and determination that I am now in a place where I am comfortable enough to create a blog and write about it, not knowing who might find and read it. I really wish mental illnesses were easier for people to talk about. Thus, I created Abundant Life hoping to start a conversation.
I am not the anxiety.
I’m a preschool teacher by trade and, in my recreational time, I enjoy being a vocalist and a multi-instrumentalist musician. I enjoy calligraphy, I can ride a unicycle, my library card number is memorized and my favorite animal is a panda bear. I’m still on a concert high after seeing Pentatonix live in August 2018 and if a guy took me to see Les Miserables live he might as well have a ring in his pocket. (My brothers might argue that one.) I keep a fully-equipped picnic basket and blanket in my car’s trunk just because one never knows when it might come in handy and I absolutely love reading a good novel and highlighting paragraphs in my Catechism of the Catholic Church.
I live in Northern Virginia, currently in the "Nest". It's a sweet home nestled in the woods near a lake and I love that I'm with some of our longtime family friends.
Depression feels like death and anxiety makes you think you're going to die. I just want everyone to know that you don't have to wait to feel like you're dying to start living. You are strong and you are brave and you will get through this living just one day at a time, one moment at a time, accepting hardships as a pathway to peace. Jesus came that you might have life and have it to the full and I believe that, walking together, we can all live that reality.
2022 is a year of living my life more truly as a beloved daughter of God and so, with that, I raise my glass of Cabernet Sauvignon and ask you to join me in a toast to this beautiful, crazy, amazing, wonderful life. Cheers!
Keep your heart up!
SarahI am no longer able to allow comments on individual posts but feel free to email your thoughts. I look forward to hearing from you!
SARAHFIDDL3R@GMAIL.COM
