Everyone has something that scares them. Everyone must make a choice at some point whether to be brave. Everyone has a story.
Elizabeth Vargas
Six months ago, I traveled to India to see firsthand what the prime minister of that country calls a national shame. It is the systematic, widespread, shocking elimination of India's baby girls. Some 50,000 female fetuses are aborted every month in India.
For now, for this year, I need to be a good mother.
Rehabs have become a big business in this country. There are good ones and not-good ones, just like anything else.
We're way overdue on a woman sitting in one of those Big Three chairs.
It's estimated that one million girls in India 'disappear' every year.
I think there's nothing better in the world than a spirited discussion about the Bible and Jesus and God and the Catholic faith, or the Jewish faith, or the Muslim faith - any religion.
I am not a pregnant working mother wronged.
I worked in three local news markets and in every single one of them, they said: 'You're a lousy anchor. We would love to renew your contract and have you be our lead reporter here, but we're not going to have you anchor.'
You know, guys, it is possible for two women to work together and get along.
I'm praying we don't go to war with Iraq. If we do, I may have to go back to work earlier.
I don't know if I was born an alcoholic, but I was definitely born anxious.
Because I am basically so insecure and anxious and afraid, I never, ever in my life learned to reach out for help, ever.
If I've helped one person, I feel really great, but I hear from people daily.
I am an alcoholic. It took me a long time to admit that to myself. It took me a long time to admit it to my family, but I am.
Denial is huge for any alcoholic, especially for a functioning alcoholic, because I - you know, I'm not living under a bridge. I haven't been arrested.
I felt like I had to be, you know, perfect, which is ridiculous. Nobody's perfect.
I'm part of AA. I have a sponsor. I have great, great friends who I love and who love me.
You cannot turn your brain off or stop your thoughts, but you can try while meditating not to become too invested in them. This is called transcendental meditation, which is the kind I practice.
I now make meditation a daily part of my life. Ideally, I would find 20 minutes, twice a day, to sit and meditate with an app I have on my phone. In reality, on most days, I only get the chance to do it once. But it is still incredibly valuable.
People with anxiety tend to be hyper-reactive. We are like jack rabbits, off and running to the races, reacting to some event, even while the event is still happening.
Meditating has taught me to sit with my thoughts, my feelings, and just observe them.
Navratilova won an astounding 167 singles titles and 166 doubles titles in a career which has spanned nearly 30 years. She changed the game of women's tennis by forcing opponents to reach her standards of fitness and athleticism.
'Jeopardy!' contestant Ken Jennings' winning streak has been nothing short of remarkable.
One of my favorite things to do with my children is to read to them.
I love telling people's stories.
It's not easy to talk about myself at all.
I would not hesitate for a nanosecond to step in front of a bullet, to do anything to give my life for my children.
Flying isn't great for me - or getting caught in a crowd.
Certain things make me anxious. God forbid I get stuck in an elevator.
I had huge separation anxiety as a kid.
I had panic attacks as a little girl, and they were not subtle.
I had two experiences. I had a wonderful experience in rehab, and I had a terrible experience in rehab. But, to be honest, in the end, it wasn't rehab that got me sober. It was just finally surrendering and saying, 'I don't want to do this anymore. I can't do this anymore. Somebody help me.'
I've been living with anxiety much, much, much longer than I've been with living with alcoholism, that's for sure. I already knew from the sheer numbers and all the data that I'm not alone. I mean, the biggest mistake I did was spending most of my life thinking I was the only person who felt this way.
