What Is Anxiety?

According to Mind, anxiety is feelings of uneasiness, worry and fear. Everyone experiences anxiety at some point in their life, particularly when there’s a life event around the corner (job interviews, weddings, guest speaking etc). The difference between life event anxiety and anxiety as a mental illness is people with an anxiety disorder tend to overthink things, they spend their time rethinking things they’ve said, things they’ve done and they may think “if I had done X, then maybe Y would have turned out this way”. Rethinking things is only a little part of anxiety, but it gives a good indication as to how we think and consequently, feel.

As an individual who has been diagnosed with Generalised Anxiety Disorder, Social Anxiety and mild Depression (it still pains me to admit to this one), I can honestly say that living with anxiety is tiring. It’s questioning yourself everyday, it’s trying to convince yourself that it’s just your mind tormenting you and it’s fearing that if you overcome anxiety, then you’ll loose the qualities that you actually like about yourself (being motivated, organised etc) because you think that it’s the anxiety that makes you this way.

You are not alone.

If you ever have feelings like the ones mentioned above, please take some time to research your symptoms and acknowledge your thoughts. You may not think/realise it just yet, but you have the strength to knock these thoughts away. If you don’t feel like you’re ready to speak to a professional, then speak with those that you love and trust the most. Believe it or not, they will surprise you, they wont react the way that your anxious mind has told you 🙂

If you’re interested in researching mental health further or want to see the types of support that are available to you, click here

We’re all strong,