What causes anxiety and depression? A common cause is having the notion that who we think we should be isn’t the
same as who we really are. This can cause a great deal of conflict and anxiety. Based on our expectations of ourselves as well as what we perceive others expect of us, we may constantly feel we are falling short or failing. We may even convince ourselves that we are losers and of no value.
So, in order to protect ourselves from our expectation that others will judge us as negatively as we ourselves do, we may cleverly put on our ‘acceptable’ masks and spend a good deal of energy making sure no one gets to see who we really are. We may also experience a high degree of anxiety as we anticipate that it is only a matter of time before someone finds out we’re a fraud and certainly not all we’re cracked up to be. If this is you, you’re not alone! Talking it out with a counsellor can help heaps.
