Blog 111: Anxiety Journey

I wonder whether you suffer from anxiety? Do you know what it is like? There are so many symptoms that overlap with different things but you will know whether it is anxiety or not. Your heart starts to pound, your legs shake, you go a bit grey, you go quiet, you get sweaty, you hands seem to drop everything, you go clammy, you get a sore lump in your throat that you are unable to get rid off, you get a tight chest, you may breath shallowly, you will have times when you need to sit down. Anxiety is not fun and it is not something that should just be pushed under the carpet. It is something that we all need to deal with and something that should be talked about openly with other people around us and those we are able to trust.

You may not know why you are feeling this way and you may not understand it but believe me you are not the only one who suffers with anxiety, you are not the only one who has anxiety attacks. They are very common and most people feel it in their lives whether they are a child, an adult or an older person. We think it is sad when a child gets anxiety but in reality it is sad when anyone has the symptoms because we want to be in control but we are not able to be. We want to know what is happening but we are not able to be. We want to see into the future but we are not able to. Anxiety can happen for many different reasons and in many situations but it is mainly because we are not in control of what is going on around us. Anxiety is not something that we should take lightly and not something that we can ‘man up’ about.

In the days that we are living at the moment it is very easy to get anxious, we are not allowed out, we cannot see family and friends, we have to work from home, we have to order things online, we have to stay away from people, our loved ones may get sick and we can’t be there. All these things can cause us to have anxiety and it can be hard for us to see a future when things are not bland and we can go out. We would be lying if we said that at the moment due to Covid-19 we are not anxious, we feel sorry for those people with children, those people who have lost jobs, those people who have lost loved ones, those people stuck in another country, those people who cannot see their elderly relatives in care homes. We get worried and we get anxious about what the future is going to hold and what we are able to do about it. We do not know how long the lock down or even Covid-19 will last for but there is no need to be anxious about it.

Since we have been small we have been prone to be anxious about things. Do you remember the first day at school and how anxious you were? When you got your first car? When you went to university? When you got your first boyfriend? When you go to prom? When you buy your first house? When you are around strangers? When you have exams coming up? All these times we can all be anxious and it is totally normal to be anxious about these things but we do not need to be anxious about these things because everyone else has to go through them. It is a total normal thing to be anxious but in order to heal and move on from it we need to talk to those people that we trust, we need to reach out to people who we know can help us, we need to reach out to family and friends. Reaching out will be hard but it is the first important step and if people really love and support you then they will not judge you for feeling that you need help, instead they will be with you along the journey and will look after you.

Not everyone will want to go on your journey with you but that is fine because you don’t need those negative people around you. Sometimes the journey will be long and hard and other times you will overcome it quickly and easily. Through each journey and anxious stage in life that you have God will be beside you and He will help you to overcome your fears and anxieties. You only have to do one thing and that is to trust in Him and His love for you.