@sue.barries: YOU ARE NOT A VICTIM to your feelings. That was the first truth I had to face when I started overcoming avoidance.. For years, I let my emotions hold me hostage-dictating what I could say and what I couldn't. I lost relationships because my avoidance made the people I loved feel unloved. That's the cost I paid for letting my fears lead. Living life as a victim to my feelings left me powerless and helpless. Learning Im not a victim taught me l'm responsible. It gave me back my power and made me realize: "wait, I CHOOSE". I don't have to be controlled by my feelings. Today, I no longer wait for my fear to disappear. I move anyways. I act anyways. Because power isn't about being fearless-it's about refusing to let fear choose for you.