You start feeling dizzy and nauseous. You start losing control. You feel so scared. You start getting out of breath. You can feel yourself trembling. You can feel your racing heart pounding heavily on your chest.
You are sweating and getting chills at the same time. You are suffocating very badly. You want someone to just hold you. You are getting scared thinking what if something happens to me, what if I faint, what if someone sees me struggling.
There's this uncontrollable urge to just cry for absolutely no apparent reason. And that's when you realise that your anxiety has set in.
You try your best to hold on for 20-30 minutes, until the anxiety attack lasts. Anxiety can be really scary and painful at times. Anxiety is hard. It can make even the daily routine tasks seem to be difficult.
It can make even the minimal effort you need to make, seem to be like a heavy task. You are not lazy if you find it hard to get out of your bed the entire day. You are not unproductive if you couldn't accomplish a single task on your to-do-list.
Your body utilised all the energy it had to simply survive through the day. Anxiety can be very draining for the mind and body. It can make you feel tired all the time. It might make you lose your appetite.
You might find it difficult to fall asleep, or you might oversleep. Overthinking kills you from inside. There are so many voices inside your head, that they just numb you at times. It's so loud inside the head. Anxiety makes you feel disconnected from yourself, your loved ones and everybody or everything in general.
But you know what's the worst part? When an anxiety attack hits you in public. Now you have to hold on to yourself and simultaneously make sure that no one sees you struggling with your breath by any chance.
When you feel so scared and wanna cry your heart out, but you are supposed to act normal because there are people around. You are so scared thinking what if something happens to me. What if I fall unconscious.
What if somebody sees me suffocating. People will judge me. No wonder mental health issues are far more worse than physical health issues because no one can see you struggling with your mental health apparently.
People won't empathise with you if you have depression, the way they would if you have fractured a leg.
People will judge you. People will spread rumours about you. You will become a topic of gossip. People will think you are just trying to seek attention.
Some idiots might even make fun of your disease. People will be giving you stupid advises. Some immature morons will make stupid statements like...
It's all in your head', or life is so beautiful, how can you be sad and depressed. The wrong people getting to know about your issues will only make things worse for you.
Because most people aren't aware about mental health issues and how serious and deadly can they be. A mental health disorder can make a joyous, enthusiastic person whose full of life, become suicidal. Spreading mental health awareness is important.
Let's remove the stigma around mental health by talking about it. Let's not judge those who are already suffering. Let's not make things even more worse for them. You can't look at a face and tell what they are going through.
Let's be kind to people, in general. You would never know what someone might be going through. Let's be nice to everybody around us. Let's not make fun of their disease, if we do not have knowledge and awareness about it.
Let's not tell them they are seeking attention, when all they are trying to do is seek help. Show your love to them. Show your acceptance and support to them. It takes nothing to be a li'l kind. Let's change for better.
Anxiety is hard. Anxiety attacks are hard. Dealing with your issues in public is hard. But you know what, don't stop believing in yourself. If God gave you issues, he surely provided you with the strength to deal with them too. You've got this baby. You are not alone in this. There are a lot of people struggling with mental health issues. There's a lot of support available online, if you find it difficult to open up to your friends and family.
Sometimes it's okay to not be okay. Try to normalise not being okay all the time. And I highly recommend therapy or medication if there's anyone of you who's got really serious issues and it's getting hard for you to deal with them.
I know therapy might sound scary to few. But there's nothing scary about it. You will get a safe space to vent your emotions out. Your therapist will help you figure out your problems and the root cause of your issues.
They will teach you ways to cope with your issues, so that you can take care of yourself on your own. Not everybody has access to the right kind of emotional support.
So therapy makes you emotionally independent to some extent, so that you don't have to suffer when you are alone or if you don't have anybody around you whom you can reach out to. Healing shouldn't be delayed my dear.
Seeking for help and reaching out shows that you are strong enough to stand for yourself. It's a sign of strength. It exhibits your courage.
It's normal to be scared of going to a psychiatrist, psychologist or therapist, but trust me there's nothing to be scared of. You gonna get better. You gonna be fine dear. It's okay.
And if you are not someone who's got issues but if you see someone struggling with anxiety, then do offer support. You never know what wonders your little acts of kindness could do for someone. Go sit next to them.
Tell them that they don't need to feel scared. Let them know that you are there for them. Hold their hand. Offer them a shoulder to cry upon. Take them out away from people for a walk.
Talk to them about random things so they get a li'l distracted. Ask them to breathe deeper. Give them a tight hug if possible. Just hold them. Rub their hand maybe. Or maybe just be there with them.
Your mere presence might make them feel better, even if you both just simply sit in silence. Try to comfort them. Try to gain their trust that they can rely upon you.
Because if they trust you, they won't be scared about their anxiety because they will know that if something happens to them, you will be there and you will take care of them.
They will know that they will be safe because you are around to look after them. Provide them a safe space to just be.
To all the people who struggle with anxiety, listen, your mental health doesn't define you. You are not your disease. You are a lot more than that. You don't have to suffer in silence. Be vocal about your struggle.
Talk about your mental health. And you will realise that you aren't the only one hurting. You aren't the only one suffering. You are actually a part of a big club. There's nothing to be ashamed of if you are struggling with your mental health.
Be patient. It takes ten times more time to put yourself together than it takes to fall apart. And trust me, it's gonna get better. You won't have to suffer till eternity. You won't be in pain forever. Don't give up on yourself.
You will get your smile back. Don't be scared. It's okay to not be okay sometimes. You'll be fine. Don't lose hope. Life's gonna get better.
Take care! Happy healing! ❤
About The Author
Prakrati Maheshwari, born on April 9,2000, is a 22 year old, blogger turned author. She is a Chartered Accountancy student, a simple girl from Ratlam (Madhya Pradesh) India. She began writing when she was 14. She started her blog 'Unwind Emotions' in 2020. She self published her debut book 'Unwind Emotions' in 2022. Her passion and love for writing is what keeps her soul happy. She dreams of becoming a successful writer with a balanced corporate career. She writes for young adults and wishes to become a best selling author.
You can connect with her on linktr.ee/unwindemotions You can also buy her debut book 'Unwind Emotions' from the above link.
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