A lot of people who fortunately do not suffer from the unnecessary worrying and constant fear feel that anxiety is not as bad as we make it seem. Although anxiety is a very common mental illness, those who do not suffer are fortunate that they do not have to wake up with a fear of no cause, a fear of which they cannot find the origin.
Some believe there is no validity in blaming anxiety for acting out of character. They do not understand that sometimes it can truly take over you. They do not believe that with anxiety, you have logical reasons for skipping on events or needing to be alone. They do not understand the unwanted thoughts running through your head. They do not understand the sudden uneasiness that leads you to believe you forgot how to breathe or that you are about to pass out. They do not understand the feeling of being everywhere but the place you are physically in.
The truth is anxiety can affect our everyday routines. Along with worrying about the smallest things, fatigue is a major symptom. Fatigue is probably my least favorite part as I constantly feel as if I’m going to die. Anxiety also affects our sleeping patterns, lying awake for hours worrying about absolutely nothing. Personally, I tend to dwell on something I said to someone months ago.
Self-consiousness is another big one. It tends to get tricky when you’re a sociable person with anxiety because it’s harder to explain what exactly triggers it. Being in a big crowd and talking may be easy but sitting back down and going over what you said a million times in your head is the hard part. You also constantly feel like all eyes are on you when you don’t want them to be. Being lively also gives the impression of being content and happy even though your mind is racing and you can’t stop sweating. People don’t believe anything is wrong or should be wrong which makes you worry even more about your constant distress.
Living in the age of social media can also trigger anxiety. It can escalate your self-doubt by having you compare yourself to others and their accomplishments. People seem to forget that everyone only shows the best version of themselves and keeps their darkness to themselves. We forget that everyone has a flaw and that we are not the only ones. We forget to breathe and take life a step at a time. We forget that we are human and it’s okay to not have everything figured out. We know that we need to stop letting anxiety control us, we just need to learn how. We just need to learn to how to stop letting our uninvited friend through the door. We need to find a way to get rid of the shadow constantly filling us with illogical fear.
