Anxiety. It's something that (thankfully) is talked about a ton these days. It can often have extremely debilitating effects on someone and can make even the simplest of everyday tasks seem like the Labors of Hercules. It is unfortunately extremely common for those without diagnosed anxiety disorders to claim and complain about having anxiety, which in turn undermines the severity of the very real condition. This is a large part of the reason why those with actual anxiety disorders are often told to "stop faking" or to "just relax," as it can be difficult to distinguish between those with actual anxiety and those just using the term anxiety without really referring to the diagnosis associated with it.

The other large part of the reason these remarks are made to those with actual anxiety however, is that many people don't understand exactly what anxiety is.

So what precisely does anxiety, or even an anxiety attack, look like?

The real answer is, there is no definitive answer. There are several different forms of anxiety disorders, from Generalized Anxiety Disorder to phobias to social anxiety. For me, I have three separate types of diagnosed anxiety disorders. When I experience anxiety attacks, I shake profusely, feel the need to self-harm (which often results in just digging my nails into my palm), and get extremely fatigued. Other common symptoms of anxiety attacks include hyperventilation, sweating, and nausea. I know people who experience all of these other symptoms and others with diagnosed anxiety that exhibit none of these symptoms, but rather others of their own instead. I once knew someone who would curl up in the fetal position, cry, and cover their eyes with their hands when they had anxiety attacks.

The point I'm making here is that just because someone doesn't experience anxiety the exact way you do does not mean that they don't suffer from true anxiety. Yes, there are those that misuse the term, but that doesn't mean that you should ever make any assumptions about anyone else's mental health. Even if their symptoms don't outwardly seem as severe as yours, you never know what is going on in their mind.