Hello, I’d like to introduce myself! I may tell you that you’re not good enough, I may stop you from going after your goals, I may remind you of your fears, I may turn the common cold into pneumonia, I may set off an alarm when things change, I may get in the way of your concentration, I may keep you awake at night and I may even trigger physical symptoms in your body. My name is anxiety and I often show up uninvited.

Who can relate?

Two things that I can never say enough are EVERYBODY HAS PROBLEMS and NOBODY IS PERFECT. These two statements are the driving force behind A Little Counseling. It never stops surprising me that so many people feel alone with their anxiety or so- called imperfections. As a result, confidence goes down and you may begin to feel lost.

Today I challenge you to look around while keeping this in mind: just because a person appears to have everything together on the outside you never know what battle they are fighting on the inside. Anxiety is not always something that you can see just by looking at somebody. No matter how alone you may feel with whatever you are going through just remember that EVERYBODY, in some capacity, shares the same mutual friend.

I've asked real people what battle they might be fighting that others might not know just by looking at them -- Let’s get real:

• “Public Speaking”
• “Worry that I’ve miscommunicated.”
• “Tendency to think about doing things and focusing on the negative. An example is going to a ballgame, supposed to be a good thing but focus on the hassles to get there-traffic and crowds. Same with travel.”
• “Anal about routine.”
• “Terrified to drive over bridges and avoid them all together. I miss out on things.”
• “I freak at the thought of passing out. I get nervous while shopping that I may just faint. Sometimes I avoid going to stores.”
• “I am so afraid of speaking in front of large groups of people. I have called out sick to work several times to avoid this.”
• “I have a fear that I am going to get a terminal illness for a stupid reason.”
• “I have a deep fear of failure and do everything to avoid failing. This costs me time and sanity.”
• “Social situations where I have to talk to people that I don’t know. Especially taking my children to birthday parties and having to talk to the other parents can be awkward.”
• “Eating in front of people. Then eating too much when I get home at the end of the day.”
• “Illnesses, I constantly check symptoms on Web MD. I always feel like something is wrong.”
• “Going crazy.”
• “Crowds. Just thinking about crowds of people gives me panic attacks. One time I had to leave the Magic Kingdom in Disney because it was too much. I’m embarrassed, I could not even explain it to my family. They thought I was not feeling well.”