We live in a fast-paced society full of stressors, obstacles, and difficulties that have the ability to drive a person crazy.
So, whether we like it or not, anxiety is something that surrounds us. Something that lives with us.
It drinks coffee with us. It serves us dinner. It makes out with us. It holds our hand. It resides in us.
According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, 40 million adults age 18 or older in the United States have some sort of anxiety disorder. Anxiety is literally taking over our country.
It’s the most common mental illness in America and wider.
So, as a person who once struggled to overcome the inexplicable, confusing, anxious thoughts in my mind, I know what you are going through. I know that it hurts as hell.
And I know that it hurts mostly because you don’t even have the slightest clue where it came from. You have no idea why this horrible sensation of confusion keeps happening to you.
Yet, you feel hopeless. You feel like you are breaking apart and nothing could ever save you.
Anxiety doesn’t care if you feel tired to keep moving or you have no will to get out of bed. Anxiety never warns you before it hits, it slowly creeps in and comes into your life when you least expect it.
It infiltrates your mind, your body, your everyday life, and before you know it, you become the prisoner of your own darkest cell. Your mind.
And it feels like it never wants to leave. You desperately try to chase it away, you smile, you do anything to maintain your relationships, you keep on living the normal life, but something just doesn’t add up.
Something is always missing.
Suddenly finishing simple errands and living life like a normal human being is something you no longer understand.
Suddenly, a peace of mind is a luxury, a mythical place you can no longer visit. Because anxiety is always next to you to remind you of your insecurities and fears which might not even be the fruit of your own imagination.
You’re well aware that life isn’t easy, and it always comes with challenges, but anxiety just makes it even more insufferable. Everything you eventually face is a difficult obstacle.
A heavy rock along the way that requires a lot of strength, and most importantly guts.
But, you don’t have what it takes. Because anxiety made sure to rob you of everything you ever were. Everything you ever possessed and considered your strength.
Anxiety destroyed the world you once knew and took up as much space as it needs to grow.
After a while, it transformed into a resilient and strong parasite that continued clouding your consciousness and messing up your rational mind.
A bug that kept feeding on your energy and that tiny bit of life that is left in you.
So, listen to me.
You, the one who is reading this. Yes, I’m talking to you.
If you happen to be one of the millions who struggle with anxiety, please don’t be afraid to ask for help. It’s not something that you should be ashamed of. You are not weird, weak, stupid, or crazy if you experience this.
If anything, you are brave, my friend. Strong and courageous enough to admit the issues you are dealing with.
No one should ever have to silently suffer through this nightmare. We should all learn more and make sure to raise awareness about this condition because it is the only way for us to win this battle.
So, please, don’t apologize it. Don’t run. Don’t hide.
Dare to speak up. Dare to reveal your state. You are you.
Anxiety isn’t something that defines you. Anxiety isn’t something you consciously choose.
It’s a fragment of your life that just like everything else will eventually end.
Until then, hold on and remember:
You are the only person who controls what happens to you.
Image: Daku Dark
