We live in a world with many and varied moving parts. We have constant access to everything through our phones. We are bombarded with various types of media with nearly every step we take. We are constantly surrounded by some type of noise, be it actual wavelengths or the "sound" of everything going on around us. Sometimes, we take this noise as a good thing. But for a large portion of society, it is something they fear, something they dread. These people suffer from anxiety or panic attacks. And here's the thing, you can't fix it. This isn't something you can get over, isn't something you can take a drug to fix. Therefore, it's highly misunderstood and highly looked down upon.
For most of my own life, I didn't suffer from panic attacks. My first was the summer before I went to college. Honestly, I had no idea what was going on. The mixture of not being able to breathe, not being able to think, not able function was incredibly terrifying to me, which, made the attack even worse. That was the first and only for over a year. Then, life really started to hit hard. The stress of having to grow up, an entirely natural and healthy part of life, started to weigh on me. Quite honestly, I was being asked to grow up faster than my peers around me and it terrified me. That is when the attacks became more frequent. Utter panic. I'm normally the type of guy that loves being in front of the crowd, loves being with people. Yet when one hits, all of that goes out the window. You can't think. You can't act. All you want is to get away, get somewhere alone until they pass. But most of the time, you can't. So you learn. You learn to cover them up as much as possible. Smile when people walk by. Laugh at everything. You learn what your "signs" are and you learn to act against them. Because acting like everything is okay, acting like your entire world isn't crashing down around you, is so much easier than answering the questions and having to look people in the eye. The people you desperately want to talk to, because of your anxiety, you don't. You're too afraid that they won't care, or that they'll be annoyed with you. You begin to spend your life in constant fear of an attack. You don't know when or why they're going to happen. You change your patterns, become for of an introvert even if you were an extrovert before. That, of course, doesn't help. Now, what you've been telling yourself all along, that no one cares, you believe because you've secluded yourself from everyone. You've isolated yourself from the very people that can actually help!
So what to do? If you're somebody who has a friend that struggles, learn their signs. Notice the differences. You can't act forever. There are cracks, holes to peer through. Don't ask them to talk about it. They're struggling against it and talking about how you can't breathe just makes it worse. Help them to get their mind off of it. Talk about other things, actually make them laugh. Get them out of themselves. It's not an instant fix, it doesn't stop the attack entirely, but it does help. Finally, be on the lookout. If you notice it, don't sit by. We need you. We need that hand to take ours and lead us out because we're too terrified to.
If you suffer from this, don't think you're alone. Don't allow your mind to tell you that no one cares. They do. Don't force yourself to be physically alone. Seek your friends out. It's the hardest thing to do. To go to someone and admit that you're fighting and quite honestly, probably losing. But unless they know, they can't help.
Anxiety attacks are a real thing. They can't be "cured" can't be "fixed" by drugs. They make the person feel weak, inferior. I fully believe that the constant, non-stop world we live in his contributed greatly to the amount of people that deal with anxiety today. Be a friend. Be someone they can turn to. But most importantly, be Christ in our lives, showing us His love, His comfort, His grace and peace.
