Well folks I never thought in a million years I would write about this but I've recently experienced a bit of an anxiety attack on two separate occasions. For decades I have always wondered how it happens to people and I could not truly be empathetic towards those type of issues. . I can now say anxiety is no joke people!!!!
As for this blog post I will only discuss the latest of the two episodes. I woke up around 5a.m. the other day but didn't get to bed until midnight the night before. I was in my walk-in closet and before I put my suit on I decided to say a little prayer and give thanks to God. I was no more than 3 minutes into praying and I had this flash as if all I have done and all I believed was for nothing and false. Suddenly, I broke into a cold sweat and it was as if I could not breath. I began to panic thinking I need to be rushed to the hospital or find some way to escape earth. At first I thought I can't tell anyone but it was so alarming I decided to wake up my wife and let her know what was going on. I must say getting her involved was the exact right thing to do. She immediately embraced me and told me it's all a big lie and everything will be ok. Sounds like something you would say to a child but certainly not Steve "FeedTheDream" Avery. Candidly, at that point I felt like a child that needed to be held.
Although the duration of this attack was only about 30 seconds it definitely had some post traumatic effects. I would have to say that was the scariest 30 seconds of my life. I have since been very reflective about life and have been reminded of the many times I have been a bit judgmental to the "crank-pots" of the world and those odd-balls who take everything so seriously in life. I have always been a thermostat in a room full of people and always find a way to target the party poopers to try and get them out of their shell. While I always had good intentions I am now wondering about those folks as if they were people who suffered from anxiety attacks. I can't say for certain but I bet there are many people who hide and suffer in silence about anxiety issues. I am here to confess that talking about it was the best thing I could of done. Being vulnerable can be scary, but it has its benefits when you're surrounded by love and trust. I have talked with some good friends about this and was surprised to learn that they have had similar issues time and again. That gave me some great perspective to realize I am not alone. Some told me they had anxiety attacks because of health concerns and aging, and for others it was simply taking on all the cares of the world. I fall in the cares of the world camp. I see all the pain and suffering in the world and wonder "how am I going to help all these people...?"
I also believe there is something spiritual that looms in the background of this problem. Like the old saying "it is darkest before dawn", the turbulence seems to pick up in life just before a big break thru towards your dream comes. Navigating thru this can be extremely painful and I could not imagine having to go it alone. There are definitely evil spiritual forces that exist in the world and the last thing they want to see is any of us succeed at something that can help people. The attack is on the mind.
I obviously don't know all the answers but I do know that talking about things and sharing experiences with one another can be a great place to start. That is why FeedTheDream is here. We want those people who have successfully navigated trough some tough times to upload a video testimonial of that difficult time. It only needs to be 2 to 3 minutes and make sure you have a main theme or "one-liner" message that everyone can remember. Don't worry, none of us has to be a Tony Robbins to do this. Just be real and genuine. Those evil forces hate this type of activity because tons of people will be set free by hearing stories of adversity to success.
Regarding my experience that I just blogged to the world wide web... My message is "don't be afraid to talk."
I will leave you with this quote from one of my hero's in life:
"It is only natural that we (and our children) find many things hard to talk about. But anything human is mentionable and anything mentionable can be manageable.
The mentioning can be difficult, and the managing too, but both can be done if we surround ourselves with love and trust." Fred Rogers
PS - its 1:30 in the morning, I got to get to bed...
