Dear Anonymous03:

Good to read back from you. I was exposed to covid recently but experienced no symptoms so far, except maybe extremely mild ones earlier. Since we communicated last, we had lots of snow here, the roads were not drivable through much of the few weeks of the heavy snow. The snow is almost all melted by now, just a few patches of old, dirty snow, here and there.

Too bad the company you work for no longer makes it possible for you to visit tiny buddha without the threat of losing your job.

You shared that Lily was spayed and is fine, that your “self-care habits had been disrupted due to the holidays last month“, that you’ve “been feeling seriously low on (your) self-esteem“, that you are making some changes trying to improve your career, and “can’t afford hitting a low now“, that you got back together with your ex with whom you broke up in March 2021, and “so far so good“.

“My anxiety makes it so difficult for me that it has taken me years to take any steps for my professional growth. I’d love some more insight. So, I will start another thread” -you can start a new thread, but you don’t have to. I just looked through your previous threads and we talked a lot about a lot of things, plenty of insight, information and advice. Maybe it will help you to re-read our previous communication, take notes (?)

In regard to lowering your anxiety at this time, so that you can move your professional life forward, what comes to my mind is the following: (1) Resume your self-care practices, (2) When you are home, cuddle with Lily, pet her, find comfort in her physical presence, and tell her hello for me! (3) It would have helped a whole lot if you didn’t live with your mother, and if you were not otherwise exposed to her, keep that in mind.

(4) Stop scolding yourself, and whenever you feel guilty in regard to your mother, tell yourself that you are not guilty! (“Growing up, I did get scolded a lot, sometimes for doing things that weren’t even wrong“, January 2021, “I genuinely am feeling guilty majority of the times, which I think contributes to my anxiety. I’m scolding myself mentally all the time, and I can’t seem to stop“, April 2021).

(5) Communicate well with your boyfriend, make the relationship a win-win relationship and find comfort in it, (6) Every morning when you wake up, set the intent to not expect anything, good or bad, from the day; instead, form the desire to find some interest in the day, something (anything) positively interesting to look forward to,

And (7) Post here- or in a new thread, if you so choose, anytime- outside your work hours, of course!

anita