Anxiety.
That word alone is enough to send chills up and down my spine – those same chills that have traveled up and down my back since I was 12 years old, half my life.
What is anxiety? “Associated with abnormal levels of certain neurotransmitters in the brain. Neurotransmitters are special chemical messengers that help move information from nerve cell to nerve cell. If the neurotransmitters are out of balance, messages cannot get through the brain properly. This can alter the way the brain reacts in certain situations, leading to anxiety” (citation.)
I have never been good with change. Changes and the unknown for me brings on my anxiety. Change is something I dread and dislike immensely. Even the little changes in life have been enough to physically take me down, to the point of being violently ill. I’ve gotten so sick that on several occasions, I have ended up in the ER trips for anxiety. I have been very close to being admitted for in-patient treatment of anxiety. For me, anxiety is a VERY real and physical disability.
When I was first plagued by anxiety entering into 7th grade, I was embarrassed and ashamed. I was so scared to start Junior High that on day 1, I got sick at school – went home early. I played it off as “I have the flu,” so my friends didn’t realize it was from being scared to start at a new school. To this day, my anxiety symptoms manifest similar as the stomach flu, which makes it easy to hide when I’m having an attack.
Do you know what else sends chills down my spine? When people talk about anxiety as being made-up. For those of you who suffer from it know how debilitating it can be. It’s anything BUT made made-up, it’s as real as having the stomach flu or the measles. Until you witness the middle of the night sweats, vomit sessions, spinning head and pacing, how can you claim it’s not real?
What have I done to help myself? First of all, I have accepted that I have a chemical imbalance in my brain, causing me this extra stressor. To balance the imbalance I need medication to help level off my the crazy chemicals in my brain. The medicine immensely helps! Another thing that works for me, is I take a walk around the block. There’s many nights where I grab my cell phone, text or call my mom to warn her I’m walking and walk, walk, walk until my brain has had a chance to calm down. I also have a counselor who I visit quarterly, she’s so fantastic that a visit or two with her normally sets me up for 4-6 months of freedom from extreme anxiety!
Do you have anxiety? What works for you?
This post was written from a question taken from from Kludgy Mom’s Idea Bank: Anxiety Are you one of the lucky ones who suffers from anxiety? What do you do to get through it!?!
