Adulting and Anxiety: Disliking Change...

We are all facing another change: the new year of 2022.

And I pretty much dread change.

I’m that highly sensitive person that feels a little uncomfortable at the beginning of a vacation because I miss my home. Everything from the hotel/ guest room to the city it’s sitting in is…well…new. But come time to leave that vacation, I’m all in a tizzy because I’ve mentally and physically built my nest in my new spot. Now the thought of going home and leaving it makes me sad.

I won’t even go into how I feel when the seasons change from winter’s early velvet skies to those lasting summer golden nights. Beautiful? For sure. But I’m still trying to keep up with the whole mood of nature as it shifts.

Are you at all like me? And if so, what the heck do we do?

One thing that helps me more purposefully move from change to change is to have something constant with me. And it may be something simple. When I first started teaching, I wore a necklace a friend gave me. It was a piece of my past that didn’t take me out of the present, but was a visual reminder that, no, life was not all new. And I could indeed face the newness with the oldness (metaphorically) in my back pocket.

I’m essentially talking again about anchors. (I wrote an article about a year ago as we all faced 2021.) Only this time, I’m narrowing my focus to the physical anchors. Claire Millikin describes them well in her article “The Healing Power of Anchors”:

Anchors can also be smaller, more concrete or tangible things: A journal, a song, a piece of clothing or jewelry. These items remind us of moments, people or feelings and can help us conjure up strength and resilience when the world feels like a hurricane.

The “smaller, more concrete or tangible things” is what I’m concentrating on as I face 2022. And while we should all have a healthy realization that physical items are not everlasting, they can still absolutely serve a purpose. Millikin explains this purpose:

The important thing about anchors is that they give us roots. They remind us of our goals, our values and who we are.

I would add that they can also remind us of good memories and challenges we have overcome. They can also remind us of love.

For me it’s a sheep mug you see me carrying around that reminds me of a trip with my husband and close friends. It’s the familiar kindle book downloaded on my phone that I will read when I’m stuck in a long period of uncomfortable waiting. On car trips, it’s this incredibly soft brown blanket my Mom sent me years ago. I wrap it around my legs and feel relaxed.

Do you find yourself doing the same? And if not, would grabbing something tangible help you as you face some of the changes in life?

We stand on the threshold of 2022. Bring a few physical anchors along if you need them.