Anxiety made me do it!

Being a girl is hard.
Periods, pay gaps, lack of pockets, and the struggle to find jeans that fit both your waist and your thighs.

Not to mention, having to sit down to pee.

Trapped in a Treehouse

I’ve always been terrified of heights.
I get those intrusive “what if I fall and smash my brain?” thoughts, and I enjoy my brain.

I use it regularly and would like to keep it.

I was about eight, living the Otter Pop life, and playing in a treehouse with some friends when another group of kids stole our ladder.

Annoying, but not life-threatening until I realized I had to pee.

I yelled at the boys to bring it back.
They ignored me. That was their whole goal – to bother a girl – so mission accomplished.

My yelling just encouraged them.
Yep, that's behavioral health, too.

Splash Damage

My friends helpfully encouraged me: “Just slide down the firepole!”

Absolutely not.

That would mean scooching out a door, in the sky, to a pole that went straight down.

I crossed my legs so tight I nearly snapped in half.

Then one boy shrugged and suggested,

“Just pee out the window. I do it all the time.”

In my eight-year-old brain, that tracked. A much more reasonable solution than the cockamamied idea of sliding down a flipping pole.

Until I heard a scream.
From my neighbor.
Walking directly below me.

Which was… unfortunate.

Behavioral Health Life Lessons

That day, I learned two things:

1. Boys are gifted with evolutionary favoritism.
2. Avoidance makes a much bigger mess than the thing you’re avoiding.

Avoiding something scary feels good for about 2.4 seconds.
Then you’re stuck in a treehouse, panicking, and accidentally urinating on an unsuspecting adult.

The Takeaway

Avoidance feels safer, but it usually leaves you stuck, immobilized, and metaphorically dripping regret on innocent bystanders.

So next time you feel the urge to dodge something uncomfortable, ask yourself:

Do I want to face my fear… Or risk peeing on someone?

You know. Metaphorically speaking.

Because everything is behavioral health...especially avoidance.