You might just shrug off people with anxiety saying that their thoughts are irrational or they are just exaggerating. You may not realize how your mockery could in fact make anxious people feel worse. Anxious people need more than just support and reassurance. Making jokes about anxiety is not funny for people coping with anxiety disorders. Anxiety is the most common mental illness in the US, affecting 40 million people every year. Here’s what 40 million people would like you to know:
Anxiety affects us physically too
It’s not just in the head. Physical discomfort can happen unexpectedly and we can’t control it. We can’t tell when the next panic would happen or when we could start getting palpitations and rapid heartbeat. During a distressing situation, the fight-or-flight response is activated. It’s not just something that happens in the mind.
Anxiety doesn’t mean we are aloof
People with anxiety disorders could feel uncontrollably anxious in huge crowds or social situations. We fear that something bad could happen and we would be helpless. If we decide to stay to ourselves, it has nothing to do with you. We are scared of the worst that could happen.
Thoughts are exhausting
You may just give us a cold shoulder about our thoughts being exaggerated or that we are over-thinking. It’s not that we like blowing things out of proportion. We wish we could feel as carefree as you normally do. We think that the danger our minds are making up is real and we feel helpless. We are not being dramatic.
Thoughts are real
Anxiety is not something that we can fully control on our own. Telling us to get over it or to stop being dramatic doesn’t help. That doesn’t make the fear any less real.
Getting over it not easy
It’s frustrating having to live with the thoughts that we get. Anxiety sucks and can manifest itself physically out of the blue. We can’t tell when the next attack could happen. That’s why coping with anxiety is not easy. Not everyone can get treatment due to the stigma. The stigma of being mentally ill is often what kills us more inside that our thoughts and we don’t want to admit it.
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