Anxiety is a rough topic that everyone seems to have a different answer to. Anxiety can be triggered by quite a lot but a common type of anxiety is guilt-ridden anxiety. Reaching out, reading, and googling what might help specific people might be beneficial for many people because what might work for me might not work for you. For example, people recommend breathing strategies, those actually make me really dizzy and anxious due to the fear of passing out but for others, it might work great.
Everyone copes differently but some people don’t cope at all and it can feel like the world is caving in on you when everything you’re bottling up, finally explodes. A lot of people start experiencing anxiety at a young age due to tests, PTSD, and maybe even bullying. I started experiencing major anxiety when I was going to school in 5th grade. I would have panic attacks on the way to school each day on the bus because I didn’t want to go see the kids who would constantly pick on me. For a long while we didn’t realize it was anxiety. My mom and the school thought I was faking a stomach ache when in reality I couldn’t voice the turmoil inside of me. I remember being shaky and getting so dizzy I couldn’t always see straight, my stomach aches were always so bad. Not everyone experiences anxiety the same way, there are a lot of different symptoms and situations that can trigger it.
Anxiety can cause really bad habits. Nail biting, skin picking, grinding your teeth, alcohol/drug dependency, fidgeting, etc. Sometimes these are considered coping mechanisms. They are actually really bad habits and are super unhealthy. Instead of doing those things, you could try journaling, calling a friend, going to therapy, going for a walk, and maybe even taking a nap as long as you come back to the problem later and confront it.
I think an important aspect of anxiety is being guilt-ridden constantly. At some point, you need to start forgiving yourself or you will never ever feel better. Everybody messes up and makes mistakes but what we can’t do is sit there and dwell on it forever. Move on, learn your lesson, and now you know for next time you face a situation like the one you were in before how to handle everything. Stop bullying yourself and not letting yourself move on. From the age of six, we were taught that everybody makes mistakes and that it’s okay. So why do we teens not live by that anymore? Everybody makes mistakes. Those who seem like they don’t definitely do and are doing the most to cover it up. Stop beating yourself up over your past mistakes.
Anxiety is definitely a struggle for some but getting through it is better than constantly ignoring it. Sometimes, I think it’s best to find therapy or talk to your doctor about medication/treatment for your anxiety. I hope you can find some comfort in this article knowing you’re not alone and have found different ways to cope to make your life easier dealing with your anxiety.
