To the people who love someone with anxiety,

As you may know, anxiety sucks. Not just for the person suffering from it, but also for the people who love that person. People with anxiety can't explain to you that they don't always understand why they are anxious any more than you can. We don't understand why something as simple as the Wifi not working can be tear-producing. We can't explain to you the fact that their anxiety manifests itself in ways that you wouldn't expect (ie. dizziness, headache, weight loss, weight gain, etc.). Also, don't forget the crazy fact that we get anxious over being anxious. In reality, anxiety is just as physically painful as it is emotionally painful the majority of the time. It feels like walking around with a two-ton monster on your back that is always whispering lies in your ear.

What we really want you to know, though, is that we are sorry. Sorry that you have to deal with our day to day crazy. Sorry that you have to cope with wondering why we can't just handle daily frustrations. Sorry that you have to undergo our illness alongside us. Sorry that you perceive that you want us to be happy more than we want it; we do want it, but sometimes it feels out of reach. Sorry that you can't fix us and we know you want to. And sorry that you feel like you create our anxiety; you don't.

You love us until we can love ourselves and you make sure that we know you will never leave. So therefore, we are always grateful for you. Thank you for never leaving. Thank you for loving us despite our flaws. Thank you for knowing that we will be okay even though we panic and fear the future. And thank you for bringing us back to the ground when we are way too far away from reality. We love you.

You are the people we need in order to keep going.

Thank you for not giving up on us.

Love Always xoxo