Comparisonitis

Book excerpt: Multiple bestselling author Melissa Ambrosini (Mastering Your Mean Girl, Open Wide, PurposeFULL) and host of the #1 podcast The Melissa Ambrosini Show puts the condition of Comparisonitis under the microscope, unpacking the symptoms, and offering practical tips you can start using immediately to break the cycle of comparison, free up mental bandwidth, and live life on your own terms. When you cure Comparisonitis, you will… • Be free to live your life for you (no one else) • Feel peace from within • Experience genuine happiness • Truly appreciate your body and life • Free up SO much mental bandwidth for things you LOVE • Quit beating yourself up • Have more energy to go after the things that truly matter to you • Experience a radical shift towards authenticity • Be a better friend, partner, parent, family member, colleague, human • Free yourself from expectations • Unleash the courage to go after your dreams • Unstifle your creativity • Feel more liberated than you've ever felt in your life • And much more It creeps up on you without warning—perhaps while chatting with a friend, scrolling through social media, or even just while walking down the street. All it takes is the hint of someone doing or having something you perceive as "better" than you, and it hits. A feeling takes over—intense, blinding, gutting. Your brain starts spinning with toxic thoughts about yourself (or others), and you're left feeling ashamed, guilty, and even worthless. It's called comparisonitis. And if you've suffered from it, you're NOT alone. Comparisonitis is a contagious, socially transmitted condition that occurs when you compare yourself to others so frequently and fiercely that you're left paralyzed, with your confidence in tatters and your self-worth plummeting. It may sound trivial, but this affliction can have serious adverse effects on our mental health, leading to depression, anxiety, overthinking, and regret. To make matters worse, our comparison culture is only expanding. Thanks to social media, we have more opportunities to compare ourselves than ever before, and even kids are falling into the trap. Described as a "self-help guru" by Elle magazine, Melissa has experienced the effects of comparisonitis first hand, having worked extensively in industries like acting, modeling and dancing where comparison culture is not only rampant but openly encouraged. Melissa knows all too well how comparisonitis is infecting our minds and hurting our hearts, and in this book, she'll help you heal from this disease, liberate your headspace, and raise your self-worth so radically that you'll never let comparison rob you of your joy and happiness again.