The Truth About Anxiety: Why It’s So Hard to Deal With

Anyone who has experienced anxiety can tell you that it is quite literally the worst.

For everyone with this understanding, their reasonings may vary, but we all reach the same conclusion:

Anxiety sucks.

Why? Let me explain …

1. Every experience is unique:

Because everyone experiences anxiety differently, it can feel as though nobody truly understands how you feel. They may experience similar symptoms to yourself, or they might be educated enough to understand the signs and symptoms – but they will never truly understand how you feel. Because, unfortunately, your anxiety is uniquely yours.

Unique experiences with this condition, also mean that there is no one right way to treat or cope with it. Some people handle the condition better when being medicated, others by attending therapy; it can be a long process of trial and error before we find what works for us.

2. It can be debilitating:

It can be hard for those who have never experienced anxiety to truly understand just how debilitating it can be. From my experience, it can honestly knock you off your feet. There may be some days, where you might just feel butterflies in your stomach, whereas the next, you can be in a full blown panic attack where you forget how to breathe and ground yourself.

Anxiety can get in the way of everything; it can stop you going out with friends, stop you from pursuing careers, and even stop you from leaving home – like it did for me.

The not knowing when things like that will happen, which is unfortunately, a massive part of what anxiety is, can exacerbate our symptoms and lead to outcomes such as those listed above.

In our minds, if never know when our anxiety will spike, how can we expect ourselves to face it day-to-day?

3. The stigma around it:

You’d think in 2024, that the stigma around mental health would be almost completely diminished. But unfortunately, it’s still very much present.

Some people still judge individuals and wrongly categorise people with anxiety as being ‘shy‘ or ‘quiet‘, simply because we don’t know how to insert ourselves into a conversation. Stereotypes such as these come from those who are uneducated, and it can negatively affect a persons self-confidence and connection to others when it’s voiced aloud.

Unjust opinions and viewpoints such as these can lead to those suffering with anxiety to become withdrawn, as they begin facing discrimination, which can lead to exclusion from activities and events.

4. It isn’t spoken about enough:

Sure, you can find books in a library about mental well-being and coping strategies for anxiety, but have you ever noticed how small the health and well-being section of a library is?

Mental health conditions don’t get the recognition or attention they need and deserve. Learning and knowing what makes up our mental health should be something that everybody is taught. Even if we don’t face it ourselves, it is highly likely we all know somebody who does, or will in our lifetime.

The fact it isn’t spoken about enough also leads to issues such as people being misinformed, heightening stigma, or issues such as people feeling alone in how they feel, and being afraid to speak out. When really, everybody experiences anxiety at some point, and we all have to overcome it.

We’re not seeking sympathy – we just seek understanding.

5. It can be completely illogical:

Most of the time when we experience anxiety, there will be a direct cause. Perhaps you’re attending an interview soon, or there’s a presentation you need to give. But sometimes (and often the worst of times), we experience anxiety without ever really knowing why.

This is where the all too familiar ‘what if?‘ questions come in to play. ‘What if I’m out alone and have an accident, and nobody is around to help me?’, ‘What if I left my straighteners plugged in and the house burns down?’, ‘What if I don’t actually have enough money to afford this meal?’. Sometimes these questions can be really ridiculous, and the worst part is – we know it is, but we still feel that way regardless.

What we really need to overcome anxiety and the reasons why it sucks, is understanding. Pick up a book, read an article, or put YouTube on in the background. I implore you to do anything that can aid in stopping the spread of misinformation and stigmatisation around our mental health.

Tell me:

Which part of this list resonates with you most, and what will you do to overcome it?