Anxiety is difficult; not just for the person it's affecting, but for the people around them. Here are some things you need to know if someone you love has anxiety.
1. We do not want to be defined by our anxiety.
People with social or any other kind of anxiety don't want to hear "oh are you just acting like this because you haven't taken your meds today?" or the classic "are you sure you can handle this because you have anxiety?" Those things are not exactly comforting. We want to be able to do things and act certain ways without everything being based on our anxiety.
2. We get tired easily.
Having anxiety can be exhausting due to the fact that anxious people live in hyper-tense states. Our minds are always racing and we're always prepared for fear. Fight or flight are the initial reactions to fear and people with anxiety are constantly ready to do both.
3. We understand that sometimes our anxiety can be a little irrational.
I personally had anxiety attack once just because I had to order food in a Popeye's drive-through. Little things can cause attacks and anxiousness.. it makes it 10 times easier for us if you don't freak out. Your reaction is just as influential as the thing that originally caused it.
4. We get overwhelmed by almost anything.
But, just because we are easily overwhelmed, please don't treat us like a basket case that's going to Burt into tears any minute. Whether it's small and insignificant or big and influential, a crisis is a crisis, and we're going to be overwhelmed.
5. Thank you for sticking around.
We do understand that our anxiety can be a handful for us and for you. We know that our freakouts freak you out more than anything and that'd it'd be easy for you to just throw in the towel and say that it's too much. So, thank you for staying and thank you for trying.
