I remember the first time I heard the phrase exposure therapy. I was sitting in a coffee shop with a friend, desperately explaining why I avoided driving over bridges — something that had quietly taken over more areas of my life than I’d ever realized. She nodded and said, “That sounds like something exposure therapy…
I never really saw it coming. Perfectionism always felt like a badge of honor—striving for excellence, triple-checking every detail, pushing myself just a little harder than everyone else. But at some point, it stopped feeling like a strength and started weighing me down. Deadlines made me freeze. One small mistake ruined my entire day. I…
It wasn’t some big dramatic moment that made me realize I needed help with my anxiety. It was the little things. Sitting in traffic and suddenly feeling like I couldn’t breathe. Lying in bed exhausted but unable to sleep because my brain wouldn’t stop rehashing the same worry. Getting a text and avoiding it because…