Google search: anxiety, psychiatric definition: “a nervous disorder characterized by a state of excessive uneasiness and apprehension, typically with compulsive behavior or panic attacks.”
Google search: social anxiety, psychiatric definition: “A chronic mental health condition in which social interactions cause irrational anxiety.”
For those who don’t know, anxiety interferes with everyday, day to day life.With thoughts racing what feels like a million miles per minute, it seems almost impossible to think logically.
Along with their thoughts racing, they tend to overthink every single little detail right down to the bone. Constantly having the thoughts or feelings that someone is watching or judging to an extreme extent.
People with anxiety may also find it difficult to praise themselves in what they do, they tend to have anxiety/panic attacks randomly or with reason, and are constantly thinking of every possible scenario that could go wrong.
Social anxiety is also known as social phobia. Those who have social anxiety will more often than not isolate themselves from every social situation possible. Someone with social anxiety will often isolate themselves from not only strangers, but their family and friends as well.
Things like talking on the phone, ordering a meal, being around a group of people, and more are what people with social anxiety tend to avoid doing considering that this is a genuine fear.
Someone with social anxiety may also be called shy, although that is really not the case. Someone who is shy, by definition, is just someone who is uncomfortable in a certain situation and would normally just stay quiet.
Anxiety is found to be one of the top three major mental illnesses found in people. If there are so many people suffering, why isn’t there as much awareness?
“People don’t take it serious when it should be taken serious because a lot of us have it without knowing.” Says Alicia Serrato.
Recognition is crucial when it comes to something as delicate. For someone who lives in a world full of doubt, everything can seem scary. Especially something as crucial as a panic/anxiety attack, which is not taken as seriously as it should. It is possible for these attacks to be triggered by nothing. With anxiety, everything is random and nothing is predictable, and unless we know what triggers us, we normally attempt to stray away from those situations in order to prevent what would be a catastrophe for us.
Yes, anxiety is a real. Yes, mental illness is a real. No, mental illness is not for attention. No, anxiety is not exaggerated. Hurting, pain, and illnesses are not all physical. Just because you can not see it, it does not mean that mental illness is not there.
For those who do suffer from anxiety, just know that you are not alone. Remember to breathe in through your mouth and out through your nose.
Anxiety is a part of who we are. We can embrace it and learn to live with it. Support is all we need.
