5 MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT ANXIETY
Photo by Sydney Sims on Unsplash
1. They’re making it all up! – You can’t see the intense world someone with Anxiety is living in, but it’s very real. Remember looking at anyone from the outside won’t tell you much about what is going on in the inside of the person. You can’t decide for them that they feel ok. I personally have been in meetings/interviews/ parties etc. and I looked calm and collected. But I wasn't, I was having a Panic Attack. I just happen to know how to handle them without causing a scene. People with Anxiety often learn how to manage, fighting the Flee response while also looking completely composed.
2. Anxiety Disorders mean your are Unstable- If you knew how many people live with an Anxiety Disorder you would definitely realize how stable they can be and seem. Personally, I look around and see just how more stable I can be compared to any friends and family. I have a husband, kids and a fulltime job. So normal. I do just fine with my job and I am raising my kids who seem to literally wake up with a smile on their faces. So yea…we are stable people, with intense brains!
3. You need to walk on Eggshells around someone who has Anxiety- Not at all, As a matter of fact, we in no way need anyone to be anything but themselves because this isn’t some weakness. AKA we do NOT need to be coddled.
4. Lifestyle changes will cure Anxiety- If I have a clean home, everything is going great and I seem like I’m entirely put together…you’re thinking there, now you will be fine. Nope. This isn’t about the way the world looks on the outside, it’s about what’s going on inside the brain. It’s not a chemical Imbalance but I can’t turn Anxiety on and off either. It’s not a choice made to put my body in a fight or flight response. But I can do things to help myself when it happens. So, for example, I can do breathing exercises while I’m having a panic attack to calm down. But cleaning my desk isn’t going to make it so I don’t have that panic attack too begin with.
5. Anxiety means you have to avoid stress- I can honestly see why people would think this. But it’s actually the opposite. Not so much that you should bring stress into your life, but avoiding it actually just makes the Anxiety worse. You shouldn’t let anything just fester in your brain and trying to live a stress-free life sounds beautiful but it’s just not really going to happen. Instead, it's learning how to handle the stress and any other triggers that is causing the Anxiety. You may not be able to live stress-free but you can learn how to stress less.
Hopefully this helped to get rid of some of these annoying Misconceptions.
