ANXIETY

My Chapter

Anxiety is a complex thing for some people. It is different for everyone. Most likely you will need a psychologist to fully understand it. Other times you just need someone who has experienced it, like me. For me, anxiety is made up of three things; fear, stress and heavy emotion. Throughout this guide I will be referring to these as the king (stress), the queen (heavy emotion) and the executioner (fear).

As I said, anxiety is different for everyone. For different people anxiety is triggered by different things and they have different ways of dealing with it, for me I listen to music and daydream. Daydreaming is a great way to escape anxiety and stresses of everyday life, it can take you anywhere you want. But daydreaming isn't the only way of taking your mind of anxiety. It can be simple things like the coolness of the breeze brushing against your face, or the warmth of the sun, gently flowing through the window like a river of golden light running through the feeling of darkness that comes with anxiety. All of these things are good ways to keep your mind off the bad things.

Anxiety isn't just where you feel sad or lonely, they are just the base emotions and causes. Many people who suffer with anxiety will tell you that they have had an anxiety attack. These are caused if there was a dispute going on between the Executioner, the King and the Queen, who are all talking at once. These are a mix of all the things anxiety is made of and are usually centred around a fear, like for me it is centred around the fear of death, the dread and complete hopelessness about it all, the feeling that we are all part of a circle, a never ending, unfair circle.

Anxiety is everywhere, it could affect anyone at anytime. Even the happiest people can have anxiety, most of the time that is just a coping mechanism for something bad that has happened in their life, like a divorce or the death of a family member. Both can be saddening for the people involved. When I was three, my dad left. I remember feeling like nothing could be worse and that nothing could ever replace the massive hole that he left. I remember waiting up in bed, every night, waiting for the sound of him coming through the door. Coming back to the family he abandoned.

Some people who have anxiety have been traumatised by something terrible, like war or heavy bullying. These people never try to let their troubles become a burden on their family members or on people who know them. These people need someone there for them. These people often become dejected, quiet and passive and do not engage with friends as often or with family members at home. Next time you ask someone how they are and they respond, "Good", but not with any energy, ask them what's wrong. Because I can guarantee you that most of the time that person is upset or worried about something. People don't build walls not to keep others out, but to see who cares enough to break them down.

But anxiety isn't all bad. It lets you appreciate the good things. The little things that make life great. It allows you to be open to allot of people, it gives you knowledge of how others feel and it gives you empathy towards all those who are suffering from their problems, but above all it gives a profound appreciation for life and all the good things about it. That's it. That's my understanding of anxiety.