Avoidance.

I love when I find out something I do is actually quite common, even though I thought it something to be embarrassed about. Like, when I discovered that a LOT of people Google Earth new places before they visit so they can get a handle on the parking situation and even maybe change plans if it looks terrible.

Recently I discovered that a lot of people put off tasks that make them anxious for very long periods of time. Even tasks that may not take that long, but still get pushed off to the back burner constantly because something about the tasks triggers some sort of weird avoidance response. It seems this is common for everyone, even if they don’t have diagnosed anxiety disorders or even any sort of type of neurodivergence.

While it made me thrilled that other people do it, it stresses me out immensely that I still don’t know how to not do it.

Most of mine involve phone calls or even showing up somewhere in person. And all of them are errands for me directly. I can do all of the phone calls for my family and all of the appointment making and errand running for them and my brain doesn’t block me. But give me a task for me and suddenly I’m terrified of the phone and the voices on the other side.

I think I’m writing this partly to maybe hold myself accountable. I think one of the tasks I’ve been putting off I can at least start over email. So I’m challenging myself to at least TRY to accomplish that via email and SEND THAT EMAIL today. And then the other task is time sensitive because it’s about a prescription and so that call REALLY needs to be made today. AND FINALLY…I need to call my vet.

Three tasks I’ve been putting off for various lengths of time that I’m 100% going to really try to do today! ANXIETY BE DAMNED!