When I was eight, I was diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder, which basically meant that my baseline mental status was to "worry" at all times about all things. At thirteen I was diagnosed with Panic Disorder after nearly stopping a bus carrying myself and 60 of my classmates to D.C, and at the age of 18 I was diagnosed with Depression, which was the icing on this trifecta of mental health bulls**t. To say that I'm an anxiety veteran is an understatement. But to say that I've mastered it would be an outright lie. I've learned a myriad of techniques to keep my sh*t under control over the years, but just like condoms, they're not always 100% effective at preventing your life from suddenly becoming a massive disaster.

Recently, I found myself on a flight from NY to LA that experienced some pretty violent turbulence, which has always been an instant trigger for my anxiety. Despite trying every breathing techniques I've ever learned, paying 20 dollars for the WiFi just to listen to guided meditation on YouTube, and watching anything funny on Netflix, I was still in full panic mode. With nothing else to do except shake excessively like the sad miniature chiuhaha I felt like, I decided it was a good time to reflex upon the lovely chemical release happening in my brain, and what it's meant to me through the years .

1. Anxiety sucks, but you need to embrace it in order to live with it.

This is pessimistic in a way, but it's true. There is something surprisingly freeing about being able to admit that anxiety really sucks. I've lost a lot because of it but embracing the fact that it's ruined and infringed upon parts of my life, helps me to accept that it's here to stay. It doesn't mean I like it. It still occasionally leaves me hiding in bed or in bathroom stalls or in other parts of the country, but accepting that it is a part of me puts me in a better position to control it.

2. Anxiety looks different on everyone and changes over time.

To say that my anxiety looks the same way it did when I was eight would be wrong. When I was young, my anxiety manifested "in my head". I was a big overthinker and I couldn't stop my thoughts from spiraling out of control. As the years passed, my anxiety became much more physical, landing me in the hospital several times and taking a huge toll on my body. I used to compare my anxiety with people around me, looking down on others whose anxiety didn't seem as severe as mine. But anxiety looks different on everyone, and it's just as debilitating no matter what form it takes on: nail biting, hair pulling, hyperventilating, insomnia, oversleeping, crying, screaming, shaking, passing out, avoidance, irritability...anxiety has something for everyone.

3. People with anxiety tend to be more compassionate.

If you have anxiety you probably understand just how devastating it can be. Suffering through something you can't control gives you a stronger connection with other people who suffer, too, because you understand the struggle. People with anxiety know what it feels like to be judged and singled out, which helps them strive to make sure no one else has to feel that way.

4. More people have anxiety than you think.

The summer of 2012 was the worst my anxiety has ever been. I spent three months suffering extreme insomnia and frequent panic attacks. I remember sitting up in bed at all hours of the night feeling so desperately alone. After months of suffering in silence, I opened up to a few of my friends and almost all of them shared their own stories about anxiety. Then I noticed more people posting about it on Facebook and Twitter, even Instagram. We read the statistics and hear how common the disorder is, yet somehow still feel so isolated. Recently, many celebrities have come out and shared their stories with anxiety and related disorders like Lady Gaga, Kristen Bell, Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato, Ellie Goulding, Kid Cudi, and Rachel Bloom, which is not only helping many people feel less alone, but helping to end the stigma that mental disorders come with.