Anxiety has a funny way of reappearing. Just when you think you’ve freed yourself of anxiety, it returns. Randomly! Over the past several months I have been doing an AMAZING job of not having any anxiety attacks. I’ve felt anxiety symptoms here and there, but no attacks. What has helped me get my anxiety under control has been therapy and a series of regimens. This past Sunday morning I received and unfriendly arrival, in the form of back-to-back anxiety attacks. In the moment of trying to talk myself through my anxiety, I felt defeated. Defeated in knowing that I had lost control of my anxiety. Defeated in knowing that it would take my body sometime to recover from, the intense mental and physical effects of anxiety. Defeated in knowing that I had shit to do on Sunday that could not get done. Defeated in knowing that nothing felt better than lying in bed away from the world. Through my defeat, I found clarity in my shamelessness.
When it comes to discussing anxiety, I’m not afraid to talk about it. Anxiety has been something I struggled with since I was a child. It wasn’t until my adult life, as I laid in the ER room…that I was actually able to identify my disorder. Anxiety is associated with fear, worry, and stress. Like many people in the world…I worry and stress at an absurd amount. Society attaches stigmas to anxiety. The stigma of your crazy, your too emotional, your making shit up, and your just nervous. The stigmas impose unrealistic views about what anxiety truly is.
And no, telling someone with anxiety to:
- Calm down
- Stop worrying
- There’s nothing wrong with you
- Relax
Does not work. To all the people overcoming some form of anxiety you’re not alone. You don’t have to suffer in silence, ask for help. Live your truth!
Until next time…
-Peach
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