Anxiety is something that I have dealt with all my life but what many people don’t know is that anxiety is not just panic attacks and hyperventilation, it can creep into just about every aspect of your life.

For me, anxiety causes me to constantly question myself and to wonder what the people around me are thinking and feeling in regards to my actions. It’s like a constant stream of, “Am I fitting in correctly?” thoughts that cause me to retreat into my own mind and overthink everything.

As you can imagine when this anxiety makes an appearance in my romantic relationships it usually isn’t pretty.

When I start to care for someone, I obviously have all the same thoughts that everyone else does like, wondering if they feel the same way about me. The difference is that, with my anxiety, I can’t stop thinking about it.

I become hyper-aware of my actions when I’m around the person to make sure I don’t do or say anything to turn them off. It makes me very self-conscious and I usually end up retreating into my own mind instead of enjoying my time with the person and just being myself.

My quietness usually comes off as not being interested and the person will usually back off. Of course, this loss of interest makes me question myself even more and then I have a whole new stream of thoughts about what I could have possibly done wrong. It's a vicious cycle.

The hardest part of romantic relationships for me is the not knowing. Not knowing how the other person feels, not knowing where we stand and the lack of communication is enough to drive me insane.

Because the not knowing causes me to almost obsessively overthink everything, I’ve become very open with my feelings and I always communicate them. Sometimes, asking the other person how they’re feeling comes across as me wanting to jump into a relationship and they’re usually scared away.

In reality, for my own piece of mind, I just want to know whether they like to spend time with me and want to continue to do so.

I’ve never been one to rush into anything. I’m a thinker and I carefully consider all of my decisions, especially with romantic relationships when there’s a risk of getting hurt.

Naturally, I wouldn’t want to rush into a relationship and I like to take things slow but I don’t always get the chance to express this because as soon as I want to have the, “So, what are we?” conversation, everyone seems to run for the hills. Here again, my mind takes control and my racing thoughts cause me to wonder, "What's wrong with me?"

Another major thing I struggle with is interpreting the other person’s actions and reactions. Since I overthink everything and my mind races at a mile a minute I have a tendency to think of every possible reason for why someone would do something.

Sometimes I come up with ludicrous, illogical reasons and I drive myself bonkers thinking horrible thoughts about myself and the other person. It helps significantly to be able to talk my thoughts out with someone when I get too deep in them so that I can hear them, remind myself that it’s just the anxiety talking and that, more than likely, there is a logical explanation.

Friends really come in handy here. Shout out to everyone who has listened to my ridiculous explanations for why I think a boy hasn’t responded to my text messages and, for then, talking me back to reality. You the real MVPs.

Since I have these racing, often irrational thoughts and a strong need to communicate, I'm that girl that's always talking to you. I have no problem being the first to text you or Snapchat you and I like to continue to do so throughout the day.

Frequently talking to someone that I like gives me validation that they are, in fact, interested in me and it helps to calm my ever so prevalent, anxious thoughts. This is a problem in relationships because it often comes across as clingy and, unfortunately, is a huge turn-off for most people.

Especially at the beginning of a relationship, when everything is new and I'm doubting myself the most, frequent texting tends to scare people away before they even take an opportunity to understand where it comes from.

I'm not actually clingy. I like my space and I like to give others space. I don't want to spend every waking moment with someone I'm interested and I'm not going to monitor what they're doing or who they're with. Every now and then I just need a little reminder of interest, a little validation that they still like me.

Anxiety is something I, and millions of other people, struggle with every day, all day and it is absolutely exhausting. There is no doubt that my racing, over analyzing thoughts make romantic relationships a bit more difficult however if my need to communicate is what scares someone off then I can quickly determine that they’re not the right one for me.

At least I don’t spend a bunch of wasted time with someone that doesn’t truly accept me for who I am. I may be an overthinker, I may get into my own head sometimes, but when someone comes along to show me that I have no need to worry then I will know I’ve found the right person.

Regardless of anxiety, or any other issue you may be dealing with, do not give yourself to anyone that doesn’t accept you fully, for exactly who you are. Be yourself, communicate, be patient and someone will come along to love you the way you need and deserve.

To those who find communication "scary," take a step back and try to see it from the other person's point of view. Hear them out to understand why they feel the need to have "the conversation," instead of immediately being turned off with the assumption of a rushed relationship.

Have patience with a person that may come off as clingy and be open with them if they're actions are too much (in a nice way, obvi). Successful relationships are those that allow for acceptance and communication, which takes work, patience and the ability to see things from someone else's point of view. It may just be a maturity thing but, I think we could all use a little improvement in this area.