anxiety

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

Anxiety Horror Story - Episode 1: The Concert
End of summer, 2016. I was on the way to this live show event with my “friends” at Counter Culture, the new venue in my small little town, Saginaw, Michigan. When we get there, I automatically realize how lame I look compared to everyone else, start to feel self-conscious, out of place. It definitely was not my scene and I barely knew any of the bands there too. The room is absolutely PACKED with people, to the point where the main concert room is spilling into the lobby and outside. The room is LOUD, my ears ringing. More and more people are piling in, I start to panic. I look around, searching for my friends—familiar faces in the crowd. I see them far away, across the room, submerged between a sea of bodies. They laugh, dance, together, unaware of my existence. How could they so easily forget that I was there? How could they be so blissfully ignorant of the fact that I wasn’t even with them anymore?
By Lita7 years ago in Psyche
They Left for the Day
After seeing the abuse and the mistreatment of other patients in my hall, I had to remain alert. I was not going to speak unless spoken to, and I was going to keep to myself. I did not want to give the techs a reason to notice me. I was beginning to feel tired, but there was no way I was going to be able to sleep, not even for five minutes. I decided to just sit in my recliner and watch television.
By Rachel Bonneval7 years ago in Psyche
Tips for Understanding Anxiety
What's it like for those living with anxiety? So they say it is easy to move on, to forgive, and even to love. It seems that by now it should be easier and not so hard to do the simple things that make you feel who you are. It is like you want so hard to breathe but at the same moment, you just can't do that one simple thing you know how to do.
By Meghan Laprarie7 years ago in Psyche
Am I a Failure?
Anxiety is a bitch, I think we can all agree. It keeps you up at night or wakes you up in the middle of the night, it plants thoughts and worries and doubts into your head about your character, about who you are as a person. It makes you not want to clean, or shower, or get dressed, and it tears apart every bit of power or confidence that you thought you had.
By cheyenne 7 years ago in Psyche
Why Anxiety Makes Me Seem like a Bad Friend
I'm not a bad friend. I'm not a bad friend. I'm not a bad friend. These are the words I repeated to myself as I cancelled yet another party, another dinner date, another movie night. I've unwittingly become a master of excuses.
By Emmy Thompson7 years ago in Psyche
Adventures with Anxiety
Wuddup my fellow nervous Nancies, During my first year at UNC Chapel Hill, I took a course classified as a "first year seminar." What is a first year seminar, you might ask? It's a class exclusive to freshmen, that typically covers an interesting topic (and is basically a guaranteed 'A').
By Lexie Lloyd7 years ago in Psyche
Escape Anxiety
I was very interested in writing for Vocal to see what the hype was all about. I was unsure of what I could possibly write about. I don't feel I'm very interesting and I've never been very popular. While I may stand out in a crowd due to my upbeat personality and constantly changing hair color, inside I feel anxious, shy, and always worried. Just writing these few lines I think I may have just found what I know best about and could hopefully help change others life with. How to push yourself to be in the spot light when inside you are anxious as all hell.
By Megan Allaire7 years ago in Psyche
Voices
Three in the morning, I've wrested with the fears of someone breaking in. Maybe they're outside your window right now, finding a way in.
By Abigail Brooke7 years ago in Psyche
Anxiety Is Tough, So Are You
Two steps forward, one step back. That has been the motto I’ve been living by as I navigate myself through my mental breakdown. I spend my days with my “emergency anxiety kit” on me. It consists of emergency medicine, a stress ball and lavender oil. This isn’t my first mental breakdown, it is my third. Usually they are rooted in anxiety, but this one is different because it is rooted in depression.
By Juliana Fetherman7 years ago in Psyche
Trapped Inside Myself
I can't breathe. The air is grabbing my throat and I am gasping for air. All my life I have been the quiet girl. The sweet, innocent one that doesn't have a lot to say. Maybe I am a little shy, maybe I am a little socially awkward. However, I have a lot to say. I want to say it, but I can't. I didn't realize it was bad until my sophomore year of high school. I stayed home for two weeks with what I thought was a stomach ache. No. It was my anxiety. For the two weeks, I went to doctor after doctor trying to find the cause. Finally, a doctor told me I was anxious. Seriously? There has to be an ACTUAL cause to this. I found out later, no. That was it. Anxiety has its way of doing that. It can become so severe that it leaves you feeling physically ill. The last two years of high school, I just learned to "deal with it." It was hard. Every time I ate I felt like I was going to get sick. I was scared to go out with friends, scared to go on trips, scared to get into someone's car because every time I felt sick. That made it even worse. Could you image me actually getting sick? I could never show my face again. I spent the whole two years missing out on fun things because my anxiety held me back. Even when I actually went on things, I was so scared of getting sick and dealing with the embarrassment that I couldn't enjoy anything. You know what? I NEVER got sick. It's embarrassing thinking about it now. I missed out on so much.
By Jasmine Mitchell7 years ago in Psyche
The Silent Monster
There comes a time where I have to stop and ask: "is this my anxiety talking?” Day to day, I watch as the world continues to go around me while I sit and ask myself this question. Everyday, I have struggled in every aspect of my life because I never know if this is in fact my anxiety talking. It wasn’t until recently that I realized it was the one guiding my mind for years.
By Kyrsten Wagoner7 years ago in Psyche
I’m Still Embarrassed by My Mental Illness
I went to the local shop today to put on my gas & electric. As I was paying, I reached tentatively towards a display box of Malteaser Reindeer and subsequently knocked the whole display into the floor. Chocolate deer splayed out across the tiled floor like a delicious festive massacre. I could immediately feel the tears welling up in my eyes.
By Victoria K7 years ago in Psyche