Everyone deals with some anxiety at some point or another in their lives, but when you have a generalized anxiety disorder, your mind turns every little scenario into an anxiety-filled thought. Even though anxiety can, at times, keep us from doing the things we love, it doesn't mean we don't try. Anxiety is a serious issue that needs to be addressed with less of a stigma. In hopes of lessening the stigma, here is a list of what goes through the mind of a person with anxiety in a humorous way:
1. Constantly worrying if your saying the right thing.
When you're constantly overthinking your every thought, it can turn your body language and facial expressions into an awkward mess.
2. Getting anxious about being anxious.
Yes, even the very thought or feeling of anxiety will in fact cause us more anxiety. It's kind of like having a bug crawl on you. You feel something there, you're not quite sure what it is. You look at your arm, see the bug, and you freak out.
3. Trying to look and act normal when you feel an anxiety attack coming on in public, but look entirely disoriented instead.
Yeah, panic attacks can happen at any moment. The littlest things can trigger it. Try controlling it in public without looking like a freak.
4. Needing to know the detail to any plan or suggestion ever made ... ever.
We ask a lot of questions. We need details, people. Details. There is no such thing as too many questions when you have anxiety!
5. Never knowing what you want, like ever.![]()
Don't bother asking us what we want. Chances are, we don't know, and asking will only cause us more anxiety. Stop with the pressure, people!
6. Talking ... Just talking ...
Talking? What? Me.. to you? Huh..what?
7. Canceling plans is something we do often, but not because we want to.
We might seem like flakes, but most of the time when we cancel plans, it's not because we want to. Anxiety causes us to overthink everything... and just the thought process of the billion things that can go wrong when we're hanging out with people will drive us crazy and make us cancel.
8. We find one or two people that we are comfortable with and cling to them.
9. Getting anxiety about even the smallest things because everything adds up and we end up freaking out.
We don't mean to get anxious about every little thing, but sometimes, the little things add up and we end up having a full blown panic attack.
Even though living with anxiety is difficult and at times feels impossible, it's important to never let it hold you back from living. Trust me, I know the struggle is real, but it isn't impossible. Be confident and stay positive. And to those who do not struggle with anxiety at this level, have an open mind with those who do. The things we freak out over may seem irrational to you, but we are able to find ways to make them seem rational in our minds. Bare with us and help us. We know you cannot fix us and we are not asking or expecting you to. All we ask is that you try to understand us and lose the stigma that surrounds anxiety.
