Everyone experiences anxiety differently, but whether you have an anxiety disorder or find yourself dealing with anxiousness, these things definitely aren't easy.
1. You can't get through a full day without worrying about a billion worst case scenarios that, rationally, make ZERO sense.
2. You can't get a weird look from your boss without thinking, "Welp, that's it. I'm getting fired."
3. You can't get to bed early without spending a minimum of two hours thinking about all the horribly awkward things you've done in your life.
4. You can't hang out with someone solo without freaking out over whether they're having a good time or not.
5. And you can't take a compliment without anxiety whispering, "Do they really feel that way, or do they just want something from you?"
6. You can't get through a morning without having a meltdown over your totally ~impossible~ to-do list.
7. You can't hear someone whispering and laughing without assuming they were talking about you.
8. You can't be in a healthy, new relationship without constantly thinking about all the things you could do to mess it up.
9. You can't see the "..." text bubble without going down the rabbit hole of WTF could possibly be taking them so long to respond.
10. And you can't even escape your spiraling anxious thoughts while you're ASLEEP.
11. You can't take a test without nervously rethinking every single one of your answers.
12. You can't speak up in a meeting without your anxiety being like, "Everyone's probably going to disagree with you and then never want to hear what you have to say again."
13. You can't just relax and enjoy the end of any weekend.
14. You can't have a calm, pleasant grocery-shopping experience, ever.
15. You can't be that ~chill person~ that just ~goes with the flow~.
16. And you can't just...not care about things.
17. You can't talk on the phone without physically working your way up to it for an hour, or putting it off until the last minute.
18. You can't get a vague text without thinking: "Why are they upset?? What have I done?? Why does EVERYONE hate me??"
19. And you can't get through an "anxiety calming" breathing exercise without getting anxiety over the fact that it IS CLEARLY NOT working.
20. You can't make small talk without blurting out something completely weird and unrelated.
21. You can't enjoy a few minutes of peace and quiet, without anxiety being like "Hey, remember me?!"
22. Because you can't go without anxiety for a reasonable amount of time without being suspicious about why the hell you're not anxious.
23. And, last but not least, you can't stop being anxious just because someone told you ~to stop being anxious~.
But while being an anxious person can be tough, always remember this:
By the way: Humor is a great way for a lot of people to cope with their anxiety, but if you found a lot of things in this post a little too relatable, you might want to look into ways to take care of yourself. SO, here are some quick resources:
* You can learn more about starting therapy here, since pretty much everyone can benefit from talking to a professional.
* You can learn more about anxiety disorders here.
* Here are little ways to be less anxious in general, and here are some self-care tips.
* And if you need to talk to someone immediately, the US National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. A list of international suicide hotlines can be found here.