My Garden: An Anxiety Parable
Deep inside of me there is a garden, full of many seeds. Three very special seeds have names. Those names are Confidence, Calmness and Contentment.
I was born with these seeds, but when I was young the garden was not tended to, and the seeds of ugly weeds began to take over Confidence, Calmness, and Contentment. As I grew older, I thought that the weeds had taken over the garden for good, and that Confidence, Calmness, and Contentment had been destroyed for good.
Gone forever.
What I didn’t know was that the little seeds, no matter how many times they were stepped on or neglected, were the strongest seeds in the garden. They were alive, only lying dormant, for many years. For when I began tending the garden myself by nurturing the seeds with the love and respect that they deserved – small, yet strong, lovely sprouts began to grow.
Someday soon they will choke out the weeds and become the most beautiful flowers in my garden.
Eventually, they will drop other seeds into the fertile soil and they too will grow strong with more beautiful flowers, with names like Hope, Pride, Peace, and Dignity.
Nobody will be able to walk on my garden again --- I won’t let them!
For I know that every human being has the right to grow a beautiful garden inside of them.
Our History and Our Mission
The Anxiety Network began in 1995 due to growing demand from people around the world wanting help in understanding and overcoming their anxiety disorder. The Anxiety Clinic of Arizona and its website, The Anxiety Network, received so much traffic and requests for help that we found ourselves spending much of our time in international communication and outreach. Our in-person anxiety clinic has grown tremendously, and our principal internet tool, The Anxiety Network, has been re-written and re-designed with focus on the three major anxiety disorders: panic, social anxiety, and generalized anxiety disorder.
The Anxiety Network focuses on three of the major anxiety disorders: panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and social anxiety disorder.
In 1997, The Social Anxiety Association, a non-profit organization, was formed and now has its own website.
The Social Anxiety Institute, the largest site on the internet for information and treatment of social anxiety, has maintained an active website since 1998. Continuous, ongoing therapy groups have helped hundreds of people overcome social anxiety since 1994.