Lately I’ve been learning the hard way how much stress and anxiety can influence how I show up in life and at work. The weight of a separation and divorce has been sitting on my shoulders, and it’s changed the way my brain reacts to everyday decisions. I always thought I handled pressure well, push through it, get the job done, keep life moving. But when the stress is coming from something personal, something heavy that follows you everywhere, it hits differently.

Without even realizing it, the anxiety has been fogging up my thinking. Simple decisions turn into overthinking. Routine tasks suddenly feel complicated. I move too fast on some things, too slow on others. I’ve even been called out for it. Not in an aggressive way, just someone noticing I haven’t been myself, that I was reacting more than actually thinking things through. And honestly, they weren’t wrong.

Stress from something like divorce doesn’t stay in a neat box labeled “personal life.” It silently leaks into conversations, work habits, and even the way I process problems. It doesn’t ask permission. It just shows up and starts driving.