I don't know how many times I have heard a missionary mom say "My child did not have any anxiety issues until they went on their mission." It is so common for missionaries to feel anxiety for the first time on their mission. The thing is they did feel anxiety before their missions they just did not recognize it as anxiety. They felt nervous or scared or uncertain about things and they turned to other outside things to get ride of those feelings. They would watch TV or play a video game. They would go play sports or scroll on Instagram. They would eat something yummy or go hang out with friends. They just don't allow the feelings to be there. They push them away. In the coaching world we call it buffering. It is so common with teenagers and young adults. So much that we consider it normal for them to do these things. The problem is they don't know how to feel these uncomfortable feelings and be OK with them. They haven't had to do it. Then when they go on their missions they have nothing to "buffer" their feelings away with. They no longer have social media or friends to hang out with. A gym to go let off some steam or a video game to play. They feel nervous or uncertain and they don't like how it feels. So they supress that feeling and then it can overwhelm them and manifest itself into anxiety. You see anxiety is a secondary emotion. We don't just feel anxiety, Something always comes first. Scared, nervous, uncertainty, or uncomfortable. All feelings that come before Anxiety. Everyone feels anxiety at times in our lives. Some feel it more often then others. If they don't know how to process the negative emotions then it can be really hard for a teenager on their own for the first time. They don't know how to handle it. These are things that all future missionaries need to learn how to do. What to do with these negative emotions and how to process them. How to feel uncomfortable for awhile and be ok with it. I can help your teenager or young adult who is preparing to serve a mission. Help them learn to process those feelings and learn to have a successful mission before they even get out there. Click the link at the bottom of the page to book your free mini session to learn about what I have offer to help now before they get out in the field and don't know what to do.
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