“The worst place you can be is in your own head.”

Maybe you’re one of the lucky few who don’t feel this way and if that’s you, I envy you. I, however, am not one of the lucky few. Do you remember as a child when you and your friend, sibling, cousin, relative, etc. would see how long you could hold your breath under water without coming up for air? How many of you had the person hold you back under when you were attempting to come back up, just to push your buttons? Anxiety is a lot like that. Anxiety is not being able to come up for air whenever it’s what you desperately want.

Anxiety is unescapable. Anxiety is tapping on your shoulder to remind you of all you have to do, all you think cannot do and all think you’ve done wrong. Anxiety is making something that is such a small deal into an explosive volcano. Anxiety is thinking someone is leaving you. Anxiety is wondering if you are good enough. Anxiety is staying up all night stressing about what the next morning brings. Anxiety is knowing that you look ridiculous, but not being able to stop yourself.

Anxiety is thrown around like the word, “headache,” and many people do not know the true feeling of anxiety. The people who have anxiety are often the ones who mumble, “I’m fine.” People with anxiety don’t want to accept that they, in fact, need help. Help is such a hard thing to accept, because we all want to be independent bad***s, right?

Sometimes, just sometimes, we need help. In one form or another we all need help. Help is a hard thing to ask for because help is admitting you can’t handle something by yourself. There is nothing wrong with help. There is nothing wrong with having the Flu and asking for Tamiflu, right? Then what is wrong with asking for therapy, a listening ear, coping mechanisms or medicine to deal with anxiety?

Anxiety is miserable. Anxiety is mentally and emotionally exhausting for you and the people around you. Always make sure you’re able to catch your breath and just breathe when you need to.

The saying, “You never know what happens behind closed doors,” is one of the truest sayings I have ever heard. You never know what goes on behind closed doors, just as you never know what is going on in another person’s head. Anxiety lives within a person. Anxiety haunts their everyday life. They may hide it behind their door, but it is still creeping around the corner.