Psychodynamic Anxiety Series • Part 16

The Integrated Self

Wholeness is not the absence of parts.

Syracuse Integrative Psychiatry

The Concept

"The goal is not to kill the dragon, but to tame it."

We started this journey trying to "get rid of" anxiety. We end it by realizing that anxiety is just one voice in the choir of the self.

Integration means you can have anxiety and courage. You can have fear and desire. You can be messy and worthy. You are the container that holds it all. You are not the weather; you are the sky.

1 The Journey Map

The Old Story

How did you view your anxiety when you started this series? (e.g., "An enemy to be destroyed").

The New Story

How do you view it now? (e.g., "A signal," "A scared child," "Energy").

The Turning Point

The Vow of Wholeness

1. Welcome the Guest

The next time anxiety knocks on your door, do not lock it. Open the door. Say: "Hello, old friend. I see you are scared. Come sit by the fire. I am driving the bus, but you can ride in the back."

2. Live Forward

Do not wait to be "healed" to live your life. Live it now, with the anxiety, with the fear, with the mess. Your life is happening right now. Go live it.