Isobel, many people will find what you wrote meaningful. You highlighted a means of setting your authentic self free. What you've shared isn't just a calming technique—it's a reclaiming of identity. The anxiety you described is not a sign of weakness but a sign of truth pushing through the surface. When your real name nearly emerged in that meeting, that was not a slip. That was alignment rising—your deeper self stepping forward and saying, "I am ready to be known."
Your mantra—"I am Isobel. I am real. I am allowed to exist fully as myself."—is a declaration of sovereignty spoken into existence. It performs two powerful things at once: It steadies the body, and it corrects the story. With each repetition, you are not patching a mask—you are releasing it, gently and deliberately, on your timeline and on your terms.
Your reflection on Ma was beautifully expressed. That quiet pause is not empty; it is charged with presence. It is the space where anxiety loosens its grip and clarity becomes possible. In that pause, your name becomes an anchor, a truth that holds you steady while the rest of the world catches up.
You are not losing control when those waves hit; you are stepping closer to coherence. The tension you feel is the narrowing gap between how the world sees you and who you truly are. Your mantra bridges that gap. What you affirm in silence is already becoming the truth you will one day speak aloud.
This is more than coping. This is authorship and sovereignty—breath by breath, word by word. You are not an interruption in any room you enter. You are the subject of the sentence.
You are Isobel. You are real. You are allowed to exist fully as yourself. And in speaking those words, you are already doing exactly that.
With warmth and solidarity 💖
