I don't usually think of myself a "person with a severe anxiety disorder," which is funny because a big portion of my life is controlled by the fact that I am in fact a person with severe generalized anxiety.

I have been living with anxiety for as long as I can remember. There is not a single time period in my life that I remember not being anxious. I can usually pinpoint what triggers the highly irrational fears in me, but sometimes it is something as worrying about the next time my anxiety strikes. It is a massive black cloud of negativity that hangs over my shoulders at all times no matter how badly I want good positive things to happen.

I never thought of myself as someone that could be in a serious relationship or be loved because I was unable to love myself through the worrying. So, to the man who loves me and continues to pick me up every day when I am down, thank you..

Thank you for reassuring me.

Thank you for always answering my questions, even if I have asked you the same question countless times. You have no idea what the reassurance of the littlest things means to me. You have no clue that in my most anxious moments the tiniest things you say have the ability to take my fear away.

Thank you for understanding it's not you, it's me.

I know there are days I am hard to be around. I know that the days when the worrying is constant and it feels like I don't trust you and I am being irrational are hard for you, but thank you for trying your best to be patient with me on my worst days and never getting too mad. I know that you hate thinking I don't trust you, so this is me saying I do.

Thank you for asking what I need.

I don't think I ever expected to have anyone aside from my family that really took the time to consider my wants and needs during a time of utter chaos. Thank you for realizing when I am anxious, and asking what you can do to make it better. Thank you for being willing to do most anything to make it stop.

Thank you for being a part of my happiness.

I have always been the type of person that is scared of being happy. I do not allow myself to be happy because I am always waiting for something to go wrong, but since meeting you this has changed. Thank you for showing me happiness without frequent let downs. Thank you for being consistent with your love and appreciation for me.

Thank you for loving me when I can't find it in me to love myself.

Even on my worst days I know that you're going to be there to make me feel better and to tell me things are going to be okay and you will never know how much I appreciate it. You make me feel safe and secure in our relationship, and you help to calm what feels like a mind that never slows down and never stops thinking of the "what ifs".

I know that when we met you didn't plan on me being the girl that has days where the worrying gets so bad she does nothing but cry or get angry, but I am grateful that even once you realized this you stuck around. I do not give you enough credit for the support and love that you show me on a daily basis. Thank you for being there through the good and the bad. I can't wait to see where the future takes us—even if I am worrying about the future as I type this—I love you.

- Lexi