This focuses on the symptoms that sufferers deal with on a day-to-day basis rather than when they have a busy schedule.
Disclosure: I am not begging for help or asking for attention in any way, shape, or form. I have an undeniable passion for helping others, which has lead me to be open with my anxiety. Anxiety can come in all forms and based on a continuum. Some people can't get out of bed in the morning and miss out on important parts of life and others have specific areas, places, or events that lead to anxiety symptoms. With that being said, we are all fighting our own battles, publicly or privately. Judging is not going to end the battle or find a cure. Inclusion and understanding are the keys to making the world a better place.
It's important to open up the conversation about anxiety. I'm not talking about the occasional butterflies in your stomach before taking a final, or nervousness that comes when you don't know how you're crunched for time. I'm not talking about picking out an outfit, hoping that no one will wear the same shirt or going on a first date, hoping it goes something like the movies.
I'm talking about waking up and already counting down the hours before going to an event or even class, sitting in a classroom, four corners, close quarters, foot tapping, knowing where the closest bathroom is just in case you have a panic attack, dizziness, jaw clenching, heart racing, stomach knotting, or nail biting.
Anxiety is not having one bad day-- it's doing everything in your power to make sure you survive one day at a time. Anxiety is a disorder. It is screaming silently to your brain to slow down and not think, even for a second. It's begging for help, but realizing there are no words that are going to cure your pain. Anxiety is constantly proving to yourself that you're doing just fine, even though everything feels like it's crashing down around you. It's trying to tell yourself that you don't have anxiety, just to find out how nerve-wracking it is to forget your medicine. It's saying "no" to gatherings even when you know you would go in a heartbeat if you could tell yourself to calm down. It's counting down the months to see a movie premiere and deciding the day off that you can't go. Anxiety is asking when you will grow out of it, and waking up the next day feeling numb as a result of your racing mind.
By far the hardest part....is understanding you're not alone. We are all fighting our own battle.
