One of the key lessons I learned while I was in college was that everyone has some family drama. Basically everyone has baggage. Your emotional issues and the subsequent effect it has on your mental health doesn’t make you unique or special. Our emotional traumas also do not give us an excuse to be assholes to others or go through life in eternal torment.
Back in the day, depression was my bed fellow. Over the last few years, I have entered an open relationship, albeit against my wishes and full knowledge, with anxiety. While depression and anxiety like ganging up on me sometimes to have a bit of fun, I would much rather embrace the single life mantra at this point in my life. While it seems unlikely right now, I am still taking the necessary steps to make the break-up happen sooner rather than later. In this process, I have also learnt a few things about anxiety that I never knew before and want to share with you.
A lot of my fears stem from my anxiety
I am terrified of public speaking, not in the cutesy nervous kind of way. I can actually get sick from thinking too much about it, and being able to stop my brain from going into overdrive is no easy feat. Thinking of meeting someone new for the first time in an unknown environment can give me heart palpitations as bad as if I were having a heart attack.
Having anxiety means having perennial stomach issues
If you have anxiety, chances of having a stomach upset frequently would be a thing in your life all of a sudden. You might also get constipated for no real reason, on the off chance. Random stomach cramps and cold sweats are another sign of anxiety.
My body holds onto stress unwittingly
Sometimes, we don’t even realise that we are holding onto stress. When you have anxiety, you will often catch yourself with your shoulders too tensed up, muscles knotted in, and jaws clenched randomly. The only way to deal with this is to speak to a psychotherapist who can find out the root cause of it and help you deal with it all.
