My name is Stephanie and I live with high-functioning anxiety. I found out very late in the game that I had anxiety in college and attended therapy sessions to learn about healthy mental habits. But after spending over a decade of coaching figure skating and teaching children, I realize that teaching is the most healing form of reflection and it transformed my anxiety. When you have hundreds of mini-humans mimicking your every move, you start to see how your habits, mindsets, and behaviors impact your students positively or negatively. Teaching makes me practice what I preach about mental health and happiness. Maintaining a healthy mental state allows me to stay present and be an example for my students. Through therapy, supportive loved ones, and teaching, I learned to concentrate on what’s within my locus of control rather than focusing on extraneous factors or outcomes that I can’t change. Although it is a daily struggle to fight against my anxiety, teaching motivates me to maintain a healthy mental state and gives my life purpose in helping my students achieve their version of happiness.
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