I love this! I have a little fox necklace that I use like this as well! I don't go into unknown situations without it. For Sanctuary, mine would be my blue couch in my room. I call it my reading couch and I have my pillows and blankets on it so when the world is too much I can go hide in my little cozy corner.

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@marshmalloww Thank you so much for sharing this, it takes a lot of courage to put words to something that feels so heavy and confusing. What you’re describing makes so much sense, and you’re definitely not alone in this. That moment of realizing “oh… this isn’t how everyone feels” can be both relieving and deeply painful. Feeling calm for the first time and grieving the years you didn’t have that is a very real and valid response. Nothing about that makes you crazy, it makes you human and aware. It’s also incredibly common for anxiety to spike when you start therapy and begin working through trauma. You’re loosening long-held coping mechanisms and your nervous system is learning new ways to exist, which can feel overwhelming and exhausting. The shoulders-up-to-your-ears feeling is such a familiar sign of how much your body has been carrying for so long. Being competent, decisive, and high-functioning at work while feeling undone by “small” things at home is something so many people with GAD experience. It doesn’t mean you’re weak or inconsistent, it means you’re using a tremendous amount of energy to hold things together during the day. Decision fatigue is real, and it’s okay to need softness and simplicity when you get home. Accepting the label can feel frustrating, enlightening, and grief-filled all at once. That tension you’re feeling around acceptance is part of the process, not a failure of it. You’re learning how to meet yourself with more honesty than you ever had space to before. As for “toughing it out,” many people find that the real shift comes when they stop trying to be tough and start practicing gentleness instead, letting rest be productive, letting emotions exist without fixing them, and speaking to themselves the way they would to someone they love. Progress isn’t linear, and the days that feel harder don’t erase the work you’re doing. You’re doing something incredibly hard, and you’re doing it thoughtfully and bravely. Please know that many of us have walked this path and recognize exactly what you’re describing. Be patient with yourself, healing is slow because it’s deep. And you’re already moving forward, even on the days it doesn’t feel like it. Keep up the good work and best wishes!💛

Such a great thing to remember! Amulet I find fuzzy blankets comforting. I just got a new hogwarts 1 for Christmas from a family member. I love curling up under them or even snuggling close to it. Only downside is my dog loves them too and steals them 😂😂

@MissNMTX @RoseyLittle @NickyMoon @kimmybunny @Zina @SquirtleSquad @DaddysCosmicBunny Ohhhh things are getting so good!!! The two have finally met and can you say TENSION?!?!!? Ugh I can already see the spice is gonna be good. I am however worried for how intense the third act breakup may be. That being said yall are free to read chapters 17-21!

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Oh! I have a sanctuary too... my bed 💗! That's covered in stuffed animals and ungodly amount of blankets and under pillow twizzlers lol. I also crawl in here when I need to just peel off the world and be small. I would say i have a map, its something my coworker told me that i keep in the back of my mind. 3 P's - Most things aren't perfect, personal, persistent. It helps me reframe a lot of things.

I have an "Amulet"... a palm sized, mini pink squishmallow I put in my pocket when I need her. I call her "Little Foxy" since I have a giant squishmallow fox named "Mama Foxy, a pillow sized one named "Foxy" and small one named "Baby Foxy" (who likes to chill in the collar of my onesie and try to steal my paci while I'm coloring!), and a Fox onesie sleeper I lovingly call my "Foxy Jammies" .... Anyways... back to Little Foxy... I carry her in my backpack all the time and when I need her, I stick her in my pocket and she's there for me. I can put my hand in my pocket and give her a quick hand hug whenever I need reassurance. Or I can hold her while I practice my deep breathing. She's super soft and gentle.

I will start. Chapter 8 page 80