anxiety

A look at anxiety in its many forms and manifestations; what is the nature of this specific pattern of extreme fear and worry?

My First Dinah Shore Weekend
This year I attended my first Dinah Shore weekend. There were thousands of lesbians in attendance and several social gatherings provided ample opportunities to meet and mingle with new faces. But for someone with severe social anxiety, this also provided ample opportunities to feel stressed out and overwhelmed. Slowly but surely I made my way through the weekend, and multiple throngs of crowded venues, and managed to have a good time.
By Alicia Lynn8 years ago in Psyche
The Overwhelming Feeling of S.A.D
Stress, anxiety and depression can be draining. So much so, that you can’t get out of bed, you can’t seem to be able to make yourself get up and eat, or to get yourself to stop eating, or to even communicate to anyone. Stuff around your room piles up because you don’t have the energy to pick anything up. It seems like you’re alone in a fight that no one else can see, they can’t see what you’re fighting against, can’t see what is swallowing you whole into an abyss of nothing. Your body shaking, the fear of anything going wrong, anything being out of align of the routine, anyone getting upset or angry or disappointed at you or what you have done. This beats you down, over and over and over again, and it is everything you can do to just stay afloat and breathe. You’re so exhausted because you face the same fight everyday, using more and more effort to push it back after each day, so much you wear yourself thin, and the fight gets harder. You become overwhelmed. You start questioning. Is this worth it? Is this all there is? When will it get better? Does anyone even care? Do they not see this? Is this all in my head? What’s wrong with me? What have I done wrong? These questions starts softly, yet the longer this spiral of dark lasts it gets louder, and louder. It eventually gets so loud that you snap. You yell at someone, you break something, you hurt yourself, you hurt someone else.
By Hali8 years ago in Psyche
Safe in Your Own Skin
A panic attack can happen anywhere, at any time. It does not discriminate. You don't have to be diagnosed with a mental health problem. You don't have to be a female. You don't have to be a male. You can be an adult, a teenager, or even a child. You can be any ethnicity. Panic happens, and it will come on unexpectedly. It can be triggered by a major event or the tiniest thing. The good news is, you won't die. I'm not going to lie. You will feel like you are dying.
By Lillian Golze8 years ago in Psyche
Anxious? Always
Do you have more than one day a week that you'd rather avoid people or going out entirely? Do you freak yourself out over what MIGHT happen if you go to a party and only one person you know will be there? Do you feel dread even before going somewhere you know you'll have fun? These thoughts and feelings are an all too common truth to people with anxiety, especially social anxiety.
By Kira Lydia G.8 years ago in Psyche
Mental Health
So mental health has always been a very hushed topic in our society until very recently, which I personally think is a good thing. Mental health issues are anything from anxiety to depression to even schizophrenia. There is a wide range of mental health issues that people also have either never heard of or never speak about. However, that doesn’t mean that they are not just as or more important than anything like depression.
By Holly Russell8 years ago in Psyche
Anxiety and Relationships
We’ve all been there. A perfectly good relationship, and for a while, your anxiety disappears like it never existed in the first place, but like a cloud, it comes and goes as it pleases.
By Chrissi T8 years ago in Psyche
Anxiety
It can be difficult with anxiety sometimes. I've had it since I was 14 and it has to be the worse thing ever. I developed anxiety when I had a problem with a guy that made it all start. Now I have to avoid a lot of stuff like horrors, going to new places, or even meeting up with new friends, or even old friends on a one to one basis. This can be difficult sometimes, but I'm on tablets every day that don't always work depending on the situation. I know if I have an anxiety attack. I've learned the best way is to get angry over something; just try and get adrenaline going, and it really does help—or cuddle someone you love and breathe. Depending on the situation, I have had times where I can't touch anyone or hug anyone, I have to just lie down and focus on breathing. It can be a struggle getting up, eating, taking my tablets, then kicking in an hour later after I'm already on the bus and on the way to work. It's life, I guess.
By Rianne Collins8 years ago in Psyche
Insecurity Is No Joke
Hello. First of all thank you to anyone reading this who has read any of my previous pieces. If you are new I would like to say as I always do my English is not so great and my pieces are very opinionated and personal. If you can handle that then please read on and share your opinion with me. I have used the word insecure in my title because that is what I find I most identify with. I find it a tender subject to label anything I experience with terms of mental illness like anxiety or depression. I have always refused to go and have myself diagnosed with anything I potentially have because of the self fulfilling prophecy.
By Matt W8 years ago in Psyche
I'm So F**king Happy and I Want to Kill Myself
I'm not sure what it is about happiness that connects to sadness, but there is something. I got a call about a new position today and then a call that I'd have an interview, and then an interview, and then a call asking how the interview went and then at the end of that call my recruiter told me I'd gotten the job. All of this happened in one day. Holy shit! I'm so happy. My body hasn't known how to handle it at all. I got the call and then left both of my parents a voicemail. My dad called me from Colorado while having lunch with my brother asking me what had happened and I told him I got my new job and he was super happy and so was my mom.
By Anonymous Writer8 years ago in Psyche
Too Big for Me
I remember being very young, maybe about 8 years old, and I was reading through the Guinness Book of World Records. There was a photograph that caught my attention, and it was of the world's largest swimming pool.
By Sophia Merici8 years ago in Psyche
Cruel Anxiety
Sometimes I find myself thinking why, why me? I bet if you suffer from anxiety you're constantly thinking the same thing. Why me? Why won't this just go away? Why can't I control this? You almost start to think your body and mind has betrayed you.
By Brittany Kennedy8 years ago in Psyche
10 Memes Only People With Anxiety Will Understand
There are so many people across the globe who deal with anxiety on a day to day basis. I, myself, deal with anxiety every now and then. And the sad part is that most of us don't even know the main reason for having it. While a nerve-racking incident can cause nearly anyone to have anxiety, there are multiple people who have anxiety out of nowhere. There usually isn't a solid reason for it. It shows up like an unwanted "friend" showing up to your house and wanting to chill. That's how we feel about anxiety, that one friend who does nothing but put you down.
By Penny Newton8 years ago in Psyche