Anxiety is a normal emotion that every person deals with, but for some of us this becomes a chronic and intensified feeling. Once anxiety becomes a disorder, it can manifest itself in so many ways such as racing and intruding thoughts, panic attacks, depression, and even physical symptoms. Unfortunately, many people view anxiety and other mental disorders as weak, fake, a cry for attention, and not as something that requires medical help. Quite obviously, this stigma that society has does not help those who suffer from these problems. As someone who has dealt with both mental and physical illnesses in my life, I know how hard this can be, and also the reality of physical illness triggering mental reactions and vice versa. Anxiety has prevented me from doing many things in my life and from loving myself, however now I have accepted it as a part of me, and something I can live with and learn from. These are some of the things I have learned from dealing with anxiety.

Facing challenges feels amazing: To those of us who have phobias or who struggle with certain social situations, even thinking about attempting to overcome these things can be emotionally exhausting. For some, everyday tasks such as leaving the house and running errands or going to school or work can cause panic. Taking steps, no matter how small, towards conquering these fears is such a wonderful feeling and shows true strength and determination. Throughout this process, you can learn a lot about yourself and what coping mechanisms work for you and who can be supportive for you.

Caring too much means you can enjoy a lot more: I overthink everything. I think about the possible outcomes of every single action that I take. I think about what every person might be thinking of me. I think about what I am doing, what I could be doing, and question if I am doing the right thing and if I am doing “good enough”. Despite all of these negative effects of over thinking though, the positive side is that I overthink the good stuff too. Certain objects and places and days of the year might be ordinary and insignificant to many people, but mean so much to me. With all of the thinking I do, I notice great detail and strap meaning tightly onto everything. I’ve learned that I can try to channel the energy I use to be nervous towards thinking intently about things that make me feel happy, nostalgic, or even calm.

No one is going to understand you completely: I have spent years trying to explain myself and make people understand, Constantly being told that it’s all in my head, or to “just stop worrying and calm down”, finally made me realize that it is impossible and simply not worth it. Yes it is good to educate people if they have the wrong idea about what you’re going through, and answer their question if they ask, but unless they are in your position they are not going to understand your experiences, and they don’t have to. They do not have to live with the things that you do, so their opinions do not have to matter, don’t let them.

Nothing is permanent: This is something that I am still learning. Often times I will tell myself that what I feeling will last forever. I will always be sick, I will always be sad, I will always be afraid. This is so untrue, every feeling passes. There is always a more pleasant feeling and a better situation that will come, so there is no reason to give up. This too shall pass.