This Is Anxiety...

The month of May is Mental health Awareness Month. Many people struggle with Mental Health Conditions. In addition, many people who develop Chronic Medical Conditions, often contend with anxiety and/or depression. Here is a piece I wrote about living with Anxiety.

"This Is Anxiety..."

Anxiety is like a person who believes they are failing in life while simultaneously believing they are succeeding in life... These polar opposites have a magnetic attraction to each other... They slam into each other while simultaneously trying to push away from each other... This friction creates the sparks that trigger the symptoms of anxiety...

This ongoing conflict

Creates an internal battle of emotions, physical symptoms and worrying, that we know are irrational. However, this is our reality, so sometimes we believe it's rational. The person is continuously sifting through the barrage of negative thoughts, internal negative self-dialogue, over whelming feelings, nervousness, restlessness, insecurities, self-doubt, irrationalities, and questioning the intentions of others non-stop... Sometimes this cycle of internal conflict is slow, and the person can easily mask this conflict, seamlessly engaging in life with no qualms.

Sometimes this cycle of internal conflict is as fast as a freight train that derails. It's at this point the person tries to hit the brakes, in order to slow down, and take a breath. Unfortunately, there are times the person's reaction time is too slow and they emotionally and mentally derail.

Heightened emotional responses

While you cannot see the person's internal conflict, what you do see at times is the person responding to this internal conflict with heightened emotional responses, restlessness, incessantly talking but at other times not talking at all, being overwhelmingly exhausted yet unable to sleep, exhibiting irritability, or the person simply leaves a place/situation because their anxiety is overpowering them.

While you may not have anxiety, trust and believe the person you know, living with anxiety. Some days they are fighting non-stop internal battles, just to simply show up. Also know that while it may seem the person doesn't want to be there, their presence proves they do.

So please be patient, be kind, be supportive and give the person a few minutes, while they utilize their grounding tools and coping strategies to manage their anxiety, catch their breath, and get acclimated to the situation and/or surroundings.

...This Is Anxiety