If you’ve been a subscriber for a while, you may notice that I write about many topics. From ADHD, to random musings, from parenting to reflections on my birthday. However, the topic that I struggle the most to include in my writing is anxiety. For whatever reason, I struggle to communicate through words what works for me personally and professionally. Anxiety is one of the specialties I focus on in my private practice, Franki Bagdade Therapy. I have been managing an anxiety disorder my whole life. However, when it comes to blogging about it, everything I write somehow sounds basic or cliché. I finally decided to just let that go and write the blog anyway. Because sometimes, those cliché, overused, meme-worthy phrases actually hit. And by “hit,” I mean they wedge themselves right between my anxious brain and my spiraling thoughts.
Let me explain.
The first time the phrase “do it scared” actually clicked for me—not just as a therapist, but as a full-blown, high-functioning, overthinking, occasionally-freaking-out human—was during a terrible (and by terrible, I mean wonderfully predictable) Hallmark movie.
Stay with me. I promise there’s a point.
The plot: small-town girl, big-city guy, spontaneous date involving a hot air balloon (as one does). She sees the balloon, panics, and blurts out that she’s terrified of heights. He immediately feels awful and says they can cancel. But then she takes a breath, looks him in the eye, and says:
“I guess I’ll have to do it scared.”
And of course, it was a metaphor. For vulnerability. For love. For all the messy, terrifying leaps we have to take if we want to grow.
But it also works for… everything else.
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