When Relief Comes From Hard Truths

We often think anxiety is something to fix, manage, or push away. The word itself makes us tighten our shoulders, brace against it, or hope it disappears with a glass of wine, a good run, or a better night’s sleep.

But here’s the truth: your circumstances aren’t the problem — your autopilot is. And the autopilot response most of us have to anxiety is to avoid it.

What if relief doesn’t come from escaping anxiety — but from facing the very truths it’s pointing us toward?

That’s been my experience, and it’s what I see again and again in others: anxiety is not the enemy. The mind loops, the body leads. And when we follow the body’s signals toward what’s real, relief follows.

Anxiety as a Messenger

Through my own journey, I’ve come to see anxiety as part of a bigger picture of generational, spiritual, and emotional healing. It shows up to remind us of what we’ve buried — old fears, unmade decisions, truths we don’t want to admit.

When I stopped seeing anxiety as a flaw in me and started listening to it as a signal, things shifted. You’re not broken, but something sure is. Relief didn’t come from control. It came from honesty.

My QuickBooks Story

For months, I avoided opening QuickBooks. Every time I thought about it, I felt that stomach-drop of dread.

• What if I’d been doing things wrong?

• What if the numbers showed I was failing?

• What if I couldn’t fix it?

That avoidance gave me short-term comfort. I didn’t have to face the numbers. But the anxiety kept building.

When I finally opened the books, nothing catastrophic happened. Were there corrections to make? Of course. But the relief came not from perfect numbers — it came from accepting the truth I’d been afraid to face.

It’s like this: if you want financial freedom, stop saying “I don’t want to know.” If you want clarity, stop saying “later.” Stop choosing what’s familiar over what’s better.

Don't just take my word for it, here's what the other experts have to say...

Psychologists call avoidance a negative reinforcement cycle: every time we avoid, we feel short-term relief, but the long-term anxiety gets louder.

Compassion researcher Kristin Neff shows that people who meet themselves with kindness instead of criticism handle anxiety with greater resilience.

And as Deepak Chopra writes, true healing comes not from fighting one piece of ourselves, but from connecting body, mind, and spirit.

It's a simple concept but not easy to do: Accepting Hard Truths

The hardest part of anxiety is rarely the situation itself — it’s the resistance to what’s true.

Hard truths might sound like:

• I can’t control everything.

• I’m scared, but I can still act.

• I need support, and that’s okay.

When we accept these truths, something shifts. Relief comes not because the anxiety disappears, but because the weight of resistance does.

Here’s another hard truth: you’re the common denominator in everything that’s not working. That’s not blame — it’s empowerment. If you’re the common denominator, you’re also the solution.

Reflection Opportunity

What hard truth are you avoiding right now — the one that feels too much to face, but might actually set you free?

Because connection is the thing. Anxiety isn’t here to torment you. It’s here to guide you. To reveal. To heal.

And once you’ve faced those truths, the next question becomes: what about all the ways we avoid them? That’s where we’ll go next.