Anxiety, a term that has over the years become common and is loosely used as a synonym for discomfort or feeling out of place. There are many variations of anxiety and until you’ve been diagnosed with the mental illness, it isn’t okay to say that you suffer. No, this isn’t coming from a place of bitterness, but most people who use the term barely even know what it implies. I was diagnosed 2 years ago and since then, I have seen different versions of me come out in different situations.
Sometimes, all alone in my room, clutching the phone with no one to talk to. Sometimes, when I am bailing on a friend because social interaction and meeting people, especially new ones, sounds scary. And sometimes, in the middle of the party surrounded by people who love me, but I just feel like I can’t breathe. The physical symptoms of anxiety are never put out there in the open because most of us are afraid of being judged for our ‘weakness’ as the world puts it. Every time I tell someone new about my anxiety, and the fact that I am on medication for it, the pity in their eyes makes me recoil in horror. I do not need to be pitied, I am an independent young woman taking care of a chemical imbalance in my brain.
Where is this coming from? Brittany Nichole Morefield, a makeup artist who recently posted about what every day in the life of a person who suffers from anxiety, looks like.
This isn’t a rant to get it out of my system, but just an article that I hope will start a conversation. The next time somebody you love asks you to help them make a call, get a cab or order food because their crippling anxiety makes it seem like a hard task; or asks you if you still care about them, because they constantly believe that their friend and family think they’re trouble, have a little patience and assure them you’re there for them, despite it all.
A little help goes a long way in making someone’s life easier.
P.S. if you know a person who suffers from anxiety, ask them to visit a therapist ASAP.
Contact Hope Network to get connected with help.
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