What People With Anxiety Wish You Knew

Hello lovelies!

How are you all? I’ve been doing a lot better recently, thankfully. I’ve been loving the sunny weather as we don’t get much of it in England. 😦

So, today I thought I’d let you in on a few things us anxiety sufferers wish non-sufferers knew. Truthfully, it can be difficult to be understood with an anxiety disorder as we often find it hard to speak up about things we want to say, which is why a lot of the symptoms are misunderstood. So, without further ado, let’s get into it!

1.) We’re not purposely being rude

This is number 1 as I’d say it’s one of my main insecurities/worries when it comes to what I’m afraid other people think of me when it comes to my anxiety. Having social anxiety often makes it hard for me to talk to new people, or even people I know when I’m having a particularly bad day, which can come across rude. I’m more than aware of this, which causes my anxiety to go into overdrive. At this point, all these negative, paranoid thoughts are circling my head over and over: ‘They think I’m ignoring them on purpose’, ‘They think I’m rude’, ‘They think I’m a freak for being so quiet’ etc. Please just understand we’re not being rude, and once you get to know us most of us are actually pretty lovely people! It’s just had to get that first initial conversation started sometimes.

2.) Sometimes we may need your help

This is one I find quite embarrassing as I’m your typical ‘badass feminist bitch’ when it comes to doing things on my own and being independent. However, my anxiety disorder makes it EXTREMELY hard for me to be as independent as I’d like. This causes me to rely on those around me more often than I’d like to a bit. For example, something I struggle massively with is leaving the house alone (sounds stupid, I know) so I usually have to rely on someone else freeing up their time to do minor errands such as walking to the corner shop with me. This is something I’m working to overcome, but at the time being I need other people’s help to overcome it. If someone you know with anxiety asks you to go to the till with them, or even for them (trust me, I’ve been there), please don’t make them feel as pathetic as they’re probably already feeling. We’d LOVE to be independent, and we’re getting there. We just need a little help along the way.

3.) We’re normal people

Despite all the anxiety we experience daily, we’re just normal people like you. We have hobbies, interests, passions, things we’re bad at, things we’re good at, films we love, books we hate, favourite bands… We have a personality outside of anxiety. Yes, often our anxiety disorder appears to take up a lot of our personality and it can be hard to find the person beneath all the worry/anxiety/stress, but we’re in there – please just try to be as patient as you can!

So there you have it! The 3 main things a lot of people, or me personally at least, wish you knew about our anxiety disorders. How did you find this post? Did you find it informative and helpful? If you did, I’d love to make a part two at some point. 🙂 Let me know if you’d like that down in the comments! Also make sure to give this post a like if you enjoyed it, or if there are parts you disagree with let me know that down in the comments too! I want my comments section to be a place for people to peacefully debate and have conversation about the post at hand.

Lots of love,

Soph. xx