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You know what doesn't help a person with anxiety? For you to tell them to just stop overthinking or worrying. It seems folks think anxiety is just a feeling, and not an actual medical condition. So here is a thread: 1/9
First of all, anxiety can take on many different forms, it can look differently in different people, and you can find support through different things. I.e. Therapy, medication, exercise, self-care, etc. 2/9
However, what is consistently true is that what you see is not all that is happening. Anxiety produces a neurological and hormonal response in your body. That means these systems signal to your brain that you are in danger and it triggers your flight or fight responses. 3/9
That means you can experience increased heart rate, sweating, muscle tension, dry mouth, loss of appetite, panic attacks, fatigue. All of which you can experience as a feeling of impending sense of doom. All of which can occur for prolonged periods of time. 4/9
The point is that anxiety doesn't just exist in your head.Your entire body experiences it. Oftentimes it is the physical responses that make us realize we are anxious before our minds ever do. That means that anxiety is not only emotionally difficult, it is physically painful 5/9
So what you might observe as a nervousness or jitteriness or insecurity, are actually emotional & physical manifestations of the chemical & hormonal roller coaster our bodies are on. 6/9
And while, you might think, well just get treatment. Need I remind you of the global intergenerational trauma that communities of color and women experience and the systematic denial of access to resources that prevents folks from accessing supports. 7/9
So, you can go ahead and take several seats, while I journey through healing the intergenerational violence that my body remembers & carries. While I might not be doing it gracefully, I am doing it. While it might not look pretty, I am doing it. 8/9
Add to all this context, the current pandemics and global trauma we are all experiencing. This is the very moment that anxious folks feared & it actually happened! So before you discount our concerns as "crazy", remember all that has happened this year. Anything is possible. 9/9
