Dear Mandy Marie:

You wrote: “Nothing is the way it was when I was my parents’ age. I’ve already exceeded the age of when my mother started having children. It feels as though we’re all lagging behind previous generations in everything we do”- true people of your generation live at home longer than people of prior generations. But as far as being “stuck in a perpetual state of fighting with depression and panic”- plenty of people of prior generations were and are still stuck this way. My mother was, I was and still deal with anxiety, and these are the prior-to-you generations.

Being “stuck in a perpetual state of fighting with depression and panic” is a painful way to live, distressing, unpleasant, and indeed lots of life remains unlived being stuck in fear.

The issue of control is very important. You wrote: “I know that life can and is completely unpredictable, and that’s where my problem lies. I hate not having complete control over it.”- and this is key: if you figure what you do have control over and focus on exercising the control you do have, that will build in you confidence, hope and courage. The more you make things happen, the stronger you feel. Look for new opportunities in your current life, as is, and make things happen, however small.

anita