 Welcome to the Anxious Morning, where each weekday morning we take a look at ideas, concepts and lessons designed to help you understand and overcome your anxiety. For more information, visit us at theanxiousmorning.com One of the questions I am asked most often is what does being recovered look and feel like? I'll take some time now and then to address that. I can share what recovery feels like to me and how my recovery is still impacting my life on a daily basis. People seem to want to know if I still get anxious or if I experience panic now. The answer to both is yes. I can have anxious moments or even an anxious day now and then. I am human. That is part of being alive. I might even experience a panic attack once or twice a year. I never guarantee or promise that recovery means that you will be anxiety or even panic-free forever. That's not realistic. What I can tell you is that anxiety and panic no longer matter to me, so when they do show up they are non-events and not worthy of declaring disaster, setback or emergency. Having built this new relationship with anxiety and fear means that I have had to come to grips with the fact that life will include normal anxiety and stress. Recovery means that I put anxiety back into its intended place in my life. So what does that look like? I can tell you that for me, it means that I have learned to be aware of stress in all its forms. There is emotional stress, mental stress and even physical stress. These are all part of life. Negative situations can be stressors, we all know this. But there is even such a thing as positive stress. Even good things can place demands on us, enjoyable and exciting though they may be. As a recovered person, I take time to back up and examine the stressors in my life so that I can respond appropriately. Not to squash or eliminate stress completely, but to ensure that I do not let things get out of hand. I can take time to reflect on what's happening from an objective point of view without being carried away by the emotions that come with stress and anxiety. I acknowledge that life is demanding at times. I allow the emotions that arise as a result. I plan accordingly to handle what needs to be handled while also making sure that I am disconnecting, disengaging and making time for healthy activities that I enjoy and provide balance in my life. Sometimes I'm really good at this. Sometimes not so good. When I'm less than diligent or when I am pushing myself, I am more likely to let the load get a tad too heavy. When that happens, anxiety might pop up to remind me that I am human and that I need to take care of myself. It doesn't pop up to stalk me, terrify me or trap me in a corner. I see it for what it is. A signal. A normal reaction that I can use to inform healthy choices and decisions. As a fully recovered person, my relationship with stress, anxiety and fear means that these things are not my enemies. They are guideposts. Sometimes they are teachers. They do not ruin my life. They are simply part of my life and sometimes they wind up being informative or even useful in informing positive changes that help me going forward. Learning to see anxiety for what it is without hitting the panic button is a game changer that serves me well every day and will continue to do so. If you're enjoying the anxious morning and you'd like to get a copy of the podcast delivered into your email inbox every morning, visit the anxious morning dot email and subscribe to the newsletter. If you're listening on Apple or iTunes, take a second and leave a five star rating. Maybe write a small review. It really helps me out. And finally, if you find my work useful and you'd like to help keep it free of advertising and sponsorships, you can see all the ways to support the work at the anxioustruth.com slash support. Thanks so much.