There are often times when my insecurities get the best of me. In those times, I often silently joke to myself, “Insecurity? I have a pill for that.” In a very roundabout way, that statement isn’t entirely incorrect, but at what point do I need to take responsibility for my own insecurities? The answer is right now, always and forever.
Insecurities come in many shapes and sizes. Insecurity about physical appearance, intellectual capability, work-related skills, relationships with others, etc. The list goes on forever. Lately I’ve found myself in the habit of simply accepting insecurities and allowing my medication to just hide those feelings away. The role of my mood-stabilizing and anxiety medications exist solely to provide me with the level playing field I need in order to work through my insecurities. Having realized this, I’ve compiled some ways to assist in taking responsibility of your insecurities in hopes that others may find these helpful.
Figure it Out: What is it that you’re insecure about? The sooner you can answer that honestly, the sooner you can find a strategy to counteract it.
Write Yourself a Letter: Believe it or not, this works very similar to the strategy of writing letters to others and not sending them. Write yourself a letter about your favourite things about you. Your best qualities, skills, the way your hair looks way cool when you spend a half hour putting way too much hair product in it. Write all of that stuff. Running out of ideas? Ask a friend to name a couple cool things about you. That’s what they’re there for! This activity will get you in the right mindset to tackle an insecurity. Writing not your thing? Record an audio file of you listing these things out loud.
Face it: Whenever I tell my psychiatrist about a new anxiety I’m experiencing, I already know her answer: “You know what you have to do.” And I do. She’s told me a hundred times. Face it! When I was anxious about going back to a place of past employment, she pestered me until I went back, and I realized it wasn’t all bad. You need to look your insecurity in the face, even if that face is your face. A mirror is helpful.
Own it: This is where that letter is helpful. As you’re standing in the mirror, look yourself right in those beautiful eyes of yours and tell your insecurity exactly why you’re not what it says you are! I’ll give you an example. You’re insecure that you’re not going to pass your math final because math is one of your weaker subjects, but guess what? In your letter you reminded yourself that on the last math test, you scored an 80%, your highest mark of the semester! And your aptly-named math teacher, Mr. Subtractadditio..filious (it’s Greek, probably), said he’s really impressed with your progress this semester. Maybe the school dance is coming up, and you’re not feeling so hot about asking Sally to go with you because you hear she’s kind of into Zack the football player. Well don’t forget that time you wow’d the socks off of Suzy with your chivalry when you opened the door for her, or that time that Jenna said you’re a great listener. What’s not to like about you? After all, look at how awesome your hair looks!
Insecurity can be a bummer, but it’s important that you arm yourself with the tools to combat those feelings. Remember, you’re awesome. Nobody can take that away from you, not even you! Take responsibility, and until next time, keep on truckin’, mind-pals.