There’s no real definition for it, but it affects so many people. There’s no way to describe it, but so many people feel it. Whether you’re having a complete mental breakdown, or you’re nervous about completely nothing — it’s totally awful.

It’s not cute, and it’s not something to pity. I know television and movies make it look like it's some crazy phenomenon that happens to so many people, and that's true, but don't let the glorification of it fool you. It sucks! The truth is, you probably don’t even know that a majority of the people you encounter on a day-to-day basis suffer from anxiety. It gets easier to hide, but it is always there.

Everyone feels it differently, and it’s actually a big deal. Telling your friend to shake it off and get over it is a sure fire way to set them off into an anxiety attack. Sometimes we don’t sleep, sometimes we don’t eat and sometimes we eat too much. There’s no explanation to what is going on in our brains except the fact that we have absolutely no idea why we feel this way. The littlest things can set us off. It’s not planned, and it’s not funny.

Here’s my tip. Let it happen. Do not tell your friend to get over it. Do not try and tell them that everything is going to be OK. Because we know this. We know it will all be OK, but while we’re buggin’ out, leave us be. Let us get it out and get over it ourselves. We don’t want your judgement and shame while it’s happening because, trust me, we’re going to feel bad about ourselves enough post-anxiety attack. Don't laugh because it's not funny. Don't try to explain what's happening because we know exactly how to deal with it. It may look like something is totally wrong, but we're just having a little freakout and that's OK. I promise.

You’ll never fully understand as much as you want to try, or how hard we try to explain it. Be there for support if needed; that’s what you need to do. Everything will be OK, and we know it, but let it happen because there’s no stopping it.