Anxiety-A feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease about something with an uncertain outcome.

It's a word that has many different definitions. For some, it is a knotted feeling in one's stomach before a big test. For many of us, it is merely a single word used to describe the ominous cloud that constantly hangs over the unlucky number of us.

Some days, it disguises itself as a sense of restlessness, or just feeling on edge. The uneasy feeling festers into what can only be described as a sense that your skin just doesn't fit on your body. There are calming techniques, sure, but for some of us, it just isn't that easy. Grounding yourself only gives you the sense that, as you're being pulled up into the air by your insides, you have a small rope still connected to the ground below. You may obsess over embarrassing situations, or avoid any activity or setting in which you would feel uncomfortable. Your emotions and your thoughts are your worst enemy, while they are also the tools that you are told to use to talk yourself down. There are nights when you get little to no sleep, because you laid in bed wide awake all night, replaying a stressful moment out over and over again. It's hard to build and maintain relationships, because eventually your friend or significant other will see the side of you that you wish so badly that you could lock away forever. Sometimes you feel as though you've been thrown into a swimming pool with the inability to swim, and all you can do is watch the surface drift further away.

"What if nobody actually likes me? What if they talk about me when I'm not around?"

A seemingly-functional individual may not show that they suffer from any form of mental illness. Things that may appear to others as "really having their life together", can actually be completely fueled by anxiety. They may always be on time to work; what they don't tell you is that they have to begin getting ready hours before they are scheduled to work for fear of being late and being judged or disliked by coworkers or supervisors. They may be perceived as "jumpy" or "fidgety"; both of which are nervous ticks. The dark cloud may lighten up at times, but it is always looming over the shoulders of it's victims.

"Maybe I'm not as capable of doing my job as I think I am. Maybe my boss is only nice to my face..."

There is still a bit of a stigma associated with any kind of mental illness or distress, and this only adds to the problem. Many sufferers are afraid to seek support or help, because they feel that they will be perceived as weak or overly sensitive. The word "crazy" is thrown around far too lightly, and it pushes anybody who may otherwise seek support away. People with anxiety have not asked to be plagued by this invisible demon, nor do they use it as a crutch. If you are one of the many of us who go day to day battling with ourselves, know that you are not alone. If you have never had to live with anxiety, consider yourself lucky, and support your friends and loved ones that may suffer from it. Even the strongest of us need reassurance sometimes.