Dear Chelsea:

It is a huge step for you to take, definitely. And it is scary. Planning will help. Plan how to do it so to maximize your chances of success. Make a written plan, here or elsewhere. There should be two elements to your plan: the practical what-to-do plan and the Emotional Plan: how to deal with the fear as you proceed to embark on the greatest thing you ever attempted. How to deal with the fear. I suggested your brother because part of the Emotional Plan is getting emotional support from people. Another part of the Emotional Plan would be to learn skills to calm yourself when anxious so you don’t react automatically and run away (what we do when afraid) which in your case would mean, run back to your grandmother.

What do you think?

anita