Photo By Naomi August
Anxiety is a crippling mental disease that not many take into consideration or pay attention to. This disease has touched more than half of my family members and it has recently touched me.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, an estimated 40 million adults (18 percent of the US) suffer from anxiety disorder. And according to the University of Queensland, Australia, one in every 13 people have this disease.
If anxiety is so common, then why is it so hard for people to understand it and why is it so easy for people that do not have it to dismiss it like it is unimportant?
To those who suffer from anxiety like I do, I want you to know that your mental health is important. If you have people in your life that try to minimize this disease, or any other mental disease that you are suffering from, then you might not need that person in your life anyway. You are strong enough, even if you do not feel like you are some days.
To those who do not suffer from anxiety but have people in your life that do suffer from it, be patient with them. They are trying the best that they can, even if you cannot see it.
Anxiety is laying down to go to sleep at night and not being able to silence your restless mind and then waking up exhausted and trying to function throughout the day without becoming frustrated because of your fatigue. But when you lay back down for the night, it starts all over again. A never ending vicious cycle.
Anxiety is opening your school planner and beginning to panic when you see all of the upcoming assignments and exams that you have to complete by the end of the week. And then wondering how in the world you are going to get all of this stuff done because your brain power is nonexistent from never being able to sleep at night.
Anxiety is not being able to tell someone “no” when they ask you to do something for them, even though there is already not enough room in your already insanely busy schedule. You do not even have time to feed yourself lunch or dinner. But you tell that person “yes” anyway because you do not want to let anyone down.
Anxiety is neglecting your own well-being to put others in your life ahead of you, because you do not want to admit to them that you are struggling.
Anxiety is having a mental breakdown in your car and having to take the long way around to your destination just so you can have a few extra minutes to escape from your responsibilities and calm yourself back down.
Anxiety is hard. But dealing with it on your own is even harder.
For those of you who do not suffer from this disease:
Be patient.
Be kind.
And be understanding to those who do. Because you have no idea what they are actually going through inside their own mind.