Roberta,

You said “So I am guessing that an introverted empath needs to be around quieter, gentler,  joyful people and a slower more natural lifestyle to help them flourish?”  I feel that you are perfectly describing what I crave.

I love my home, but when I’m there, I think of all of the things I “need” to get done. I have OCD so I have a big list of things that I want to organize (unless I complete them, they float around my head endlessly). I love my parent’s home, but I have a big family and there’s lots of stimulation. In my work, I’m either too busy or bored. Lately I haven’t have enough to keep me busy, which gives me time to think “I should be able to find a project, I wish I was home getting things done, etc” Spending time with friends is tough, because it always seems to revolve around food and I have Hystamine intolerance. It’s very difficult to eat correctly away from home. It tends to spike my anxiety – “How am I going to feel?” There is really only one place that brings me peace –

My Mother-in-law lives in a little cottage by the lake. Visiting her is one of my favorite things to do – she’s very calm and loving and loves to laugh. her sun porch and backyard bring such peace to me, I feel like I’m away from it all. It’s hard to leave. In a way I feel like I’m driving away from heaven, back into hell (the real world). That may sound dramatic, but it’s how I feel.

anita,

Thank you so much for your kind and supportive response. I plan to ask my husband to read the second half of your post to me while I have my eyes closed so I can try as you suggest.

Kodi

I’m sorry, my posts are confusing because I’m confused. Bottom line is I need to make a decision that is right for me (mentally, physically & emotionally), financially for my family AND for my husband’s well being. I’m putting so much pressure on myself to figure out a scenario where we’re all happy and less stressed. If I stay in my current job, I’m an emotional wreck but I spare my husband and we are good financially. If I quit my job, it’s quite possible that it would put a lot of stress on my husband and therefore me. I feel like I’m swinging on a pendulum between anxiety & depression and no matter what I do (meditation, yoga, tapping, etc) I can’t shut my mind off. I’m driving myself crazy and something has to give.

Hi Anita,

My husband and I spoke again and we both came to the conclusion that it was adding more stress on both of us to think of my quitting a job without another one lined up. So unfortunately I’m right back to the spot I’ve been in. One thing I’ve realized through this whole process is that depression and anxiety clouds my mind so much that I have a difficult time thinking clearly and hearing what my gut it trying to tell me. I feel that the answers I seek are within me but I can’t hear them so I seek answers from everyone around me. But having talked to so many of my family & friends has only made me more confused as, of course, their opinions differ. I’m afraid in trying to make things clearer in my mind all I’ve done is put up more of a barricade between me and the answers I seek. Do you have any advice on how to block out all the noise so I can hear myself think?

Thank you, Anita. I agree with you that the anxiety would follow me wherever I work, however I don’t think being out of work long term is a possibility for us financially – which is the main reason I’ve stayed in my current job so long. I’ve been a graphic designer for 13 years and am burnt out. I also never thought my designs were very good, which fueled the anxiety and poor self-esteem. I’m interested in writing and have more confidence in my writing skills than my design skills. I’m considering the next job as an interim job while I pursue a potential career in writing. I’d actually enjoy writing about by own experiences with mental and emotional issues to help others, much like you do. I’m looking into jobs that I think would be less stressful (such as admin), where I can just do my job and go home and write on my time. Right now I don’t write much because I’m so exhausted from being anxious all day at work and being a wife and a mother. Ideally a low stress part time job would be great but I don’t know what the future will bring. Unfortunately I don’t deal well with the unknown. My Mother is a big believer in everything happening for a reason and believes that if the veil of anxiety would lift I would see clearly the opportunists in front of me.  When I think back to the major decisions in my life I see that I just “knew”. Not long after I met my husband I knew I wanted to marry him. I knew I wanted a child. I knew I did not want a second child. When we were house hunting I knew which house would be right for our family. When we came across the right rescue dog for us, I knew. When I took this job 9.5 years ago I knew I wasn’t going to like it (I took it for financial reasons – I cried every day at lunch time the first week). How could it be that I was so sure of all of those things but so unsure now? I’ve been searching for that answer for a long time. I apologize for the long post.