You DO belong here. You are at a crossroad. \u00a0These moments\u00a0matter. \u00a0Don’t waste a\u00a0chance\u00a0to grow by falling into the comparison pit. Your journey matters. You matter. Everyone is just doing the best they can.<\/em><\/p>\n The\u00a0therapist was right, but so was the voice in my head. \u00a0As\u00a0I sat in that room and heard the suffering of those around\u00a0me, it was overwhelming. \u00a0So many hurting people. So much abuse. So much horror. So much running. So much pain. And in the middle of it all, I belonged there.\u00a0I did. My\u00a0triggering event wasn’t newsworthy, but it had unleashed fear and emotions that had long been buried deep within. I was broken. I was one of them…<\/p>\n Group therapy was\u00a0strange at first. It was a hodge-podge of people from every walk of life finding common ground in rock bottom of some type or another. For the purpose of my writing, I will refer to my fellow journeyers as students rather than patients. The difference seems important somehow.<\/p>\n The\u00a0students entered\u00a0the room each day, scouting out the best chairs and sitting down to\u00a0complete\u00a0the obligatory mood questionnaire. The same questions were\u00a0listed. \u00a0Rank your level of anxiety, depression, fear, helplessness, sadness… How many hours of sleep did you get? Medication changes? Scary thoughts? Ideas for harming yourself? Do you want to see the doctor? What is your goal for the day?<\/p>\n The therapist on duty silently read\u00a0the completed\u00a0forms to determine which student\u00a0might need to begin and then something curious happened. Complete strangers began\u00a0sharing the most intimate details of their lives right there\u00a0in the open\u00a0for all to see. It was never the same group of people from day to day, and it sometimes\u00a0wasn’t\u00a0even the same therapist. We were\u00a0encouraged to ask questions of one another and comment on what we\u00a0heard.<\/p>\n Thinking back, it seems absurd that a group of complete strangers in the darkest hours of their life became\u00a0one another’s community. But that is what happened even though our paths would\u00a0likely never cross again.<\/p>\n What if it didn’t take a rock bottom experience to bring people together? What if we sat at one another’s feet instead of a table\u00a0and spilled all the fear and darkness and pain? What if this happened in our living rooms and kitchens and school pick-up lines rather than in a hospital or a clinic? What would that require?<\/p>\n
![\"31days\"](\"http:\/\/www.seekingthestill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/31days-150x150.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a><\/span><\/span>This series is not a tidy story of a fairy tale life. \u00a0It is\u00a0messy and truthful. \u00a0For 31 days, I will share pieces\u00a0of my journey, practical coping techniques for dealing with anxiety, spiritual insights,\u00a0emotional struggles, and a whole lot of other. \u00a0I will likely\u00a0\u00a0jump from here to there as the Spirit leads. \u00a0I invite you along\u00a0as\u00a0I share\u00a0my experience, my strength, and my hope. Thank you for being part of this journey with me. \u00a0Together, we shall seek the still.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"