What happens when you don’t recognize your anxiety problem or just accept as just a normal part of your life? Maybe you don’t see yourself as someone with a real mental illness, and maybe you think that the nervous feelings you get in social situations are just a part of your personality. While it is perfectly normal for everyone to feel anxious from time to time, if you find that you are anxious all the time, this may be a sign of an anxiety disorder. Anxiety creates a constant cycle of invalidating thoughts and self-doubt which only add more fuel to the fire making your mental health worse.
Anxiety disorders are debilitating, and many of the common symptoms of anxiety are similar to those of depression. Some of the symptoms include fatigue, restlessness, excessive worrying, and avoiding social situations. In many cases, anxiety and depression can occur simultaneously and feed off each other leading to feelings of worthlessness and despair. Anxiety and depression can make you feel like your problems are small and insignificant, but it is important to remember that your feelings and experiences are valid.
It’s easy to feel like your anxiety isn’t severe enough for you to seek help for it; you may think that only people with more severe mental illnesses are the only ones who need therapy to heal, but, if left untreated, anxiety can worsen over time. Unfortunately, many people have the misconception that anxiety is not a serious mental illness, and you may even be hearing this from the people around you. However, this is simply not the case. It is not something you can just ignore and hope it gets better on its own. It creates and perpetuates these insecurities in your head to make you feel inadequate. However, despite what your anxiety and those around you may have led you to believe, you deserve to get help to manage your symptoms. Anxiety can take over your life and make it incredibly difficult to complete simple, everyday activities, but, with the help of a mental health professional, it is manageable.
Do you need help managing your anxiety? Contact us.
Emergent Counseling and Consulting 