Lets paint a picture, You are waking up to start your day. What's the first thing you as a person thinks of doing? it could be making that fresh pot of coffee so you don't cut someone, getting in a hot shower to help you think of things you need to get done during the day, or just rolling out of bed and putting on the clothes you laid out the night before; Lets face it we have all had mornings like that. It is the start of a new day. Lets make the most of it, right?

For some people, the getting up and getting ready is more of a job than your actual job itself. Its like waking up to a mound of bricks suffocating you. You make a move towards the end of the bed and then ultimately feel powerless. It could be a bad thought, your work life, and possibly anything will make you feel doomed. What is this feeling you often yell to yourself. This feeling, my friend, is anxiety. Although, anxiety is wildly talked about I feel as a person it is so understated by how paralyzing this mental state is. It is the one feeling that can get you from feeling amazing to throwing up in a public bathroom (ew.) anxiety is like living in a black hole that you feel you can never get out of. You feel like reality is opposite and you cannot control anything around you. Which at times you really cannot control things, but that gut feeling that you are a mistake and that nothing can ever get better, that is anxiety and depression. Its the most deadly and frightening feeling in this world.

Anxiety is feeling worried or nervous about a certain thing or just in general. Everyone at some point in time will feel anxiety. The difference between one person to another is that sometimes it becomes crippling. That is when that lovely word that everyone loves to see comes attached to it, you know disorder. Anxiety disorders are no joke. They can and just might cripple and paralyze you That waking up routine that most people just note as part of their day is a hassle. What is going to happen? Can I just lay here and forget that I exist? That just constantly runs through a persons mind. It does not just pertain to waking up, its an all day, everyday hassle. It could be a simple thing as your friends not texting you back, and it just turns your mind frame into they are mad at you or you just are not good enough. It is the true black hole theory.

If you do not understand what life is like with an anxiety disorder, it's simply noticed as being "worked up" Have you ever told a friend to chill out because they were freaking out over something small? Anxiety disorders are like being chased by a cheetah. You can never out run that feeling and once it gets you, it'll eat your soul and kill you emotionally and physically. The most paralyzing feeling is knowing that talking yourself out of whatever is making you feel so incapacitated is something that is mental, you cannot fix it with your hands or run from your feelings. Your emotions can control how you deal day to day. It will either make you a work superstar or a work joke. You can become a shell.

Guys, if you are dealing with personal struggles with anxiety, find someone to talk to. My favorite quote is what my favorite organization penned:"People need other people. " In the truest since of that phrase I honestly think To Write Love On Her Arms spoke so many truths. That is the one organization that has saved my life. We need other people. We need to know we can lean on each other and grow, so, lets do just that. If you struggle with anxiety I hope and I pray that you grow, you heal, and you find someone to lean on. We are worth more than our illnesses. We are the chosen generation to fight the stigma against mental illness. Lets start healing!