"Replace fear-based thinking with love-based thinking. Every time you're making a choice, ask yourself if it's going to cultivate the experience of unity and love or the experience of separation and stress." – Deepak Chopra

We all experience fear. When it comes to living with a chronic condition like endometriosis, fear can manifest in many ways.

Sometimes our initial diagnosis gives us fears about our quality of life. Dealing with the realities of our "new normal," with endometriosis can put us in a chronically fearful state of mind. Will I have a flare today? Will I be able to attend to my daily tasks pain-free? Fear about outcomes that are beyond our control can facilitate fear taking root.

"I finally came to realize that my fears about having endometriosis and what that could potentially mean were ADDING to my pain. Once I consciously decided to relieve myself of that burden I could better focus on managing my endometriosis." – Member of MyEndometriosisTeam

Here are recent conversations from MyEndometriosisTeam:

• I have had endometriosis since 2010. I am afraid of getting any surgery but my doctor says that is the only way they can confirm anything.

• Hi, I just joined. Currently, I am waiting for a referral from the gyno to have a diagnostic laparoscopy. We both think its probably given my list of symptoms.

• Does anyone feel well, crazy, if they’ve had a day or two of no pain? Not that I wish pain on myself but if I have a day or two where I feel ok I start to doubt everything even though I track my symptoms throughout the day and can read that’s I have pain almost every day.

Dealing with fear will look different for everyone. Sometimes it means arguing with our intrusive thoughts. Sometimes it looks like meditating to clear the mind.

How do you stop fear from taking over? Join the conversation below.