The Symptoms of Anxiety that No One Wants to Talk About
I have been living with anxiety since I was 11 years old. I am 22 now. That’s 11 years of tight chest, shortness of breath, sweaty palms, and restlessness. Although for the longest time, I did not know what all those feelings meant. I thought I was weird, or having a heart attack or something like that. It was only through research and mindless internet scrolling that I came across this term, and after hours and hours of reading, I felt a huge weight come off my chest. At last, I had a name for this monster sitting on my back day and night.
Years later, anxiety has gained huge attention in the media. Raising awareness is extremely important, and it’s great that people are now talking more about what they are going through. But I did not feel included in these conversations. Nobody talked about the ugly symptoms of anxiety, the ones that shouldn’t be mentioned in the news or the newspapers, but it was my life for me.
I felt like a fraud, because I experienced symptoms that no one really talked about. When I finally had the courage to visit my GP, he turned my away. He explained my anxiety as “part of my personality” and that “it will go away”. Helpless and hopeless, I left his voice, feeling worse than ever.
Conversations surrounding anxiety never focused on the fact that the person feeling anxious might need to go to the bathroom every two minutes or so. They may urinate more than usual. They may open their bowels more than usual, due to the physical and psychological stress that their body was going through. They may sweat in places that are not acceptable to mention out loud. They may vomit. See, anxiety can mess up your whole system.
The media raises awareness, but somehow when I hear people talking about anxiety on the news, or writing about it in the newspapers, I picture a girl who is “shy” and fiddles with her hands and perhaps blushes. No one talks about anxiety taking over your whole body and taking you hostage.
More conversation needs to happen. To be precise, more honest conversation needs to happen – so that everyone can feel included.
By featured writer, Evelina Bakanaite. See ‘Team’ for more information and contact details.