Some people may not believe in anxiety, some may say it's fake or made up, some may even say that it is a way for people to get attention. Well, it is none of that for someone who deals and lives with anxiety day in and day out. It is probably the scariest thing to deal with sometimes because it occurs in so many forms that it is hard to even explain what is happening. It also doesn't help that there are so many forms of anxiety—generalized, social, PTSD are just a few of them.

Think of it like this: when you're sitting in class and you know the answer to a question the teacher has asked everyone, you want to raise your hand to answer, but you can't. Your mind gets foggy, your heart starts to race, sometimes you even start to shake, maybe you get goosebumps from the fear of public speaking, all because you want to answer a question that you know. You don't even ask questions depending on the size of the class because you start to choke and lose focus when you even think of having to speak out loud in front of the entire class. That one quiet person in class who looks too scared to say anything ever may have social or generalized anxiety. That scared feeling and forgetfulness before a test is the feeling of testing anxiety that many students have.

Another scenario would be when those who have been involved in a car accident, depending on the severity of it, have anxiety when it comes to driving. Or you when you see something drastic happen, the thought of it happening again scares the mind and causes someone to have anxiety. Someone who doesn't go out ever and barely talks to a single soul could have a form of social anxiety. The way that people look at anxiety nowadays is that people make it up for attention, or because they don't want to do anything, or even because they can't handle reality. To say anything to someone who truly has anxiety and has been diagnosed with it can honestly hurt them a lot because it's as if someone is saying everything you feel and/or do is fake.

The way that society portrays any mental illness is absurd and needs to be spoken about more. Being a student and dealing with anxiety are two stressful things as it is. Don't be afraid to go see someone and talk about why you may be scared, or fear something, or get choked up when dealing with certain issues. Psychologists/psychiatrists listen to people for a living and they aren't going to make fun of you. I highly suggest if you don't know much about anxiety and what it really does to someone, research it and educate yourself. You could help someone greatly one day.