Anxiety is something lots of people do not understand. It can be extremely harmful and tear you apart inside and out.
Most of the time anxiety goes overlooked by others and people do not understand the effects it can have on the individuals with it. They are mistaken for lazy or irresponsible when they are simply overly anxious, to say the least. If you are not someone with anxiety this article will help you to better understand what anxiety is and how it affects those of us who do have it. If you are reading this and have anxiety I’m sure you will agree with the things below.
1. You obsess over things normal people would not think twice about.
Literally making eye contact with someone unexpectedly is enough to get you spiraling into an anxious mess. You immediately think the situation over and over again. You obsess over everything whether it was recent or not.
2. You are sometimes too physically and mentally drained to even get out of bed.
Anxiety is something that takes a huge toll on your quality of life, it can be extremely draining. When things have been too much for too long you sometimes need a day to recoup. You cannot function properly on these days and have to stay in bed. This is a result of far too many overwhelming experiences.
3. You replay mistakes and beat yourself up time and time again.
Mistakes are hard for you to handle and will eat you up inside. You strive to be and do everything perfectly and when that does not happen it causes a major spike in your anxiety. Striving to do your best can sometimes be a setback.
4. You always compare yourself to others.
You may not want to do this but you do. You cannot help yourself and this makes you overly upset about where and who you are in life. You are worried that you are not successful enough, not pretty enough, not good enough.
5. You experience a breakdown when talking about the future.
Dealing with the present is hard enough, you see the future as a major obstacle and when it comes up as a topic you tend to retreat. Your views on the future make you frustrated and intimidated.
6. You blame yourself for things that are not your fault.
You take things too hard if someone doesn’t reply to a text you assume you did something wrong. This happens even if you know you have done nothing wrong. You should stop to consider the possibility that the person you are trying to contact may just be busy.
7. When someone says something negative about you, you obsess over it.
Things like this cause your anxiety to be even worse than it normally would be. If someone says “you don’t look well today” you take it to heart. It makes you think something is wrong with your appearance and you cannot get over it easily. If you think something is noticeable it will make you feel dreadful.
8. You remember everything.
No matter what it is you cannot forget it. You let things build up inside you until they are chipping away at your very being. Your anxiety talks more than anything else inside your head. You replay conversations and think of things you should have said.
9. You expect the worst from all situations.
While most people enjoy the moment as it is you are always worried about the next. If something can go wrong chances are you’ve played that scenario out in your head about eight hundred times already. You are prepared for anything, to say the least.
10. You have trouble sleeping.
Be it sleeping in general or staying asleep you have a hard time with it. Your anxiety clock is always ticking this makes you go to bed late and still wake up early. While sometimes it is easy for you to sleep in most of the time your mind will not let you rest.
11. You decline invites to do things even though you really want to go.
Sometimes your anxiety is just too much, you lack the energy to go out and are overly anxious about it anyway. Even though something sounds fun or is something you really want to do your anxiety holds you back. You do not want to be a burden to others and be overly anxious the whole time so you choose to just stay home.
12. You have to prepare yourself fo things, even small things.
You sometimes cannot even order at the drive-thru window if you have not properly prepared yourself or were not expecting to. Sometimes speaking to others is something you need to ready yourself for in advance.
13. You have a hard time finding the right words to say in person.
You can say whatever you feel through a text or messenger but when it comes to actually speaking face to face things get a bit complicated. You are not the best when it comes to talking to others and explaining your feelings.
These things make people with anxiety feel so small and weak and they are things people without anxiety often don’t even notice. If you know someone who suffers from anxiety please try to understand where they are coming from and do not be too hard on them. Just because you do not understand what they are going through does not make it any less valid than it is.