Growth. It hurts. I guess that is one of the ways you know you are growing. It can sometimes be painful - physically and psychologically. The return of body symptoms, fears, obsessions, and memories can make you feel like you are going back into the pit of anxiety and depression. How long this time? Will it be as bad? Do I have the strength to fight it again? Why did it come back? I was doing so well and look at me now! A growth spurt can occur for several different reasons:

1.	You may have gotten too far away from practicing your compassionate self talk and comfort measures.
2.	Obstacles or circumstances are causing you to feel overwhelmed.
3.	You may be physically fatigued due to stress, illness, or overwork.
4.	You may be emotionally fatigued due to trying to change your thoughts, constantly being bombarded with negative thoughts, or from fluctuating between being positive and being negative.
5.	Too much future or past thinking and not enough present moment living.
6.	Too much push for control and not enough acceptance of where you are, who you are, how you feel, what you are feeling.
7.	Changes taking place within you and around you.
8.	Success.
9.	Natural rhythms and routines we fall back into temporarily regarding relationships, thoughts, memories, etc.
10.	Being human.

Growth spurts happen to us all. They are a necessary part of life. Each growth spurt has a purpose, a timing, and an opportunity. A growth spurt registers a change taking place.