Understanding Anxiety - By Muhammad Mohie

When I have started understanding my anxiety I started explaining it like this:

You know how sometimes you trip over something? And there's that half second where you're not sure if you'll be able to catch yourself or if you'll hit the ground? That half second of pure terror? That's where I live every day in that half second.

We’ve all felt anxious at some point in our lives. Anxiety is that jittery feeling you get before something big happens, like a first date, a job interview, or moving to a new house. Your palms sweat, your heart beats fast, and you feel like there’s a ball of lead in your gut. But then, you might have a hard time falling asleep, relaxing, or concentrating because your thoughts are racing. Your stomach might be too upset to eat, or you might eat too much.

You might cry more or have an overwhelming desire to seek reassurance from someone. Furthermore, we live in a society bloated with data yet starved for wisdom. We're connected 24/7, yet anxiety, fear, depression and loneliness is at an all-time high. We must course-correct. For highly sensitive people, we tend to be creative and have active minds. However, the downside is this means we’re more vulnerable to anxiety. Our minds can easily conjure up all kinds of negative fantasies that fuel our anxiety and make it worse. Being highly sensitive is a package deal, you get the bad with the good. Don’t get down on yourself for being who you are.

Think about all the good things that come with being sensitive: You may be more creative and considerate, have more empathy for others, notice things that others miss, and learn new things quickly. The way you feel right it will not last for five minutes, five hours, five days, or five years from. Feelings are only temporary, and like today’s forecast, they change quickly. Like all things eventually do, those scared, anxious, lead-in-your-gut feelings will pass.

"Nothing is permanent in this wicked world, not even our troubles," said Charlie Chaplin. Anxiety can be a lonely feeling, and loneliness increases anxiety, what a terrible cycle! Sometimes it takes only a sentence or two to get us on the other side of anxiety. Dr. Hans Selye, a physician who is considered the "father" of the field of stress research, writes, "It’s not stress that kills us, it is our reaction to it." Author and motivational speaker Danielle La Porte writes, "P.S. You’re not going to die.

Here’s the white-hot truth: if you go bankrupt, you’ll still be OK. If you lose the gig, the lover, the house, you’ll still be OK. If you sing off-key, get beat by the competition, have your heart shattered, get fired…it’s not going to kill you. Ask anyone who’s been through it.” But finally... would it really matters what people tell you about your feelings! What I tell you! Nobody actually feels you like you do. So you are strong for getting out of bed in the morning when it feels like hell. You are brave for doing things even though they scare you or make you anxious. And you are amazing for trying and holding on no matter how hard life gets.