Lately, I've been seeing a lot of things for "quick fixes" to anxiety. First, there are no quick fixes. Second, people need to stop throwing the word anxiety around as a synonym for stress. They are different. Everyone gets stressed. Everyone. I get stressed and it's not anxiety. Most people have never felt the panic, the rage, the depression of actual anxiety to know the difference. I have.
Stress and worries are a part of everyday life. Am I going to be late for work because of the traffic? Did I study well enough for this test? Will I have enough money to pay bills this month? Are my kids sick enough to go to the doctor or should I wait it out? Some stressors are far more complicated and difficult than others. The level of the concern does not turn a stress into anxiety. Chemicals in your brain do that. Anxiety is stress on crack. Anxiety takes your stress and then manifests it into something that is so big that you can't control it. Anxiety can be triggered by any number of stressors. Most of the time, those of us with anxiety know our triggers, but sometimes, anxiety can come from the most random thing. Sometimes anxiety doesn't even come from stress. Anxiety attacks can be triggered through fear or anger or sadness.
When people are looking for something to "help with their anxiety", 99.9% of those people are actually talking about stress. If they were really talking about actual anxiety, they'd know that when you are in the middle of an anxiety attack, you're not looking for something to help with the anxiety. You're in full on panic mode and you're actually not thinking. There is something that shuts down all logic and reason in your brain. If you have enough wherewithal to reach for an oil or do some breathing techniques, it's not anxiety, so stop using that word. When you are in the middle of an anxiety attack, you aren't going to remember any of that. There was a technique that I read about when you visualize certain things to help calm you when you feel an attack coming on. I remembered step one and then couldn't remember the rest and it added to my anxiety because then it wasn't just a meltdown about whatever I was melting down about, but it was also about, "Why I'm such a failure and can't even remember something that is supposed to help?".
There are medications out there to help with anxiety. It's important to remember that they all come with their own set of side effects though. Medication helped me a little, but only for a little bit. I will say it again, there is no quick fix. If you have real anxiety, you need to learn how to get through it. You need to learn your triggers. You can do things that will help lower your stress, which could lessen your chance of anxiety attacks, depending on the triggers. You can use oils that help calm you. However, none of these things will stop your anxiety attacks.
So, from those of us out there who actually have anxiety, please stop calling your worries anxiety. You can feel anxious. You can be nervous. You can have worries. You can be stressed. You can be overwhelmed. But, until you actually experience an anxiety attack and feel like you're bat-shit crazy, then you don't have the right to call it anxiety and stop looking for quick fixes to it.
Stress and worries are a part of everyday life. Am I going to be late for work because of the traffic? Did I study well enough for this test? Will I have enough money to pay bills this month? Are my kids sick enough to go to the doctor or should I wait it out? Some stressors are far more complicated and difficult than others. The level of the concern does not turn a stress into anxiety. Chemicals in your brain do that. Anxiety is stress on crack. Anxiety takes your stress and then manifests it into something that is so big that you can't control it. Anxiety can be triggered by any number of stressors. Most of the time, those of us with anxiety know our triggers, but sometimes, anxiety can come from the most random thing. Sometimes anxiety doesn't even come from stress. Anxiety attacks can be triggered through fear or anger or sadness.
When people are looking for something to "help with their anxiety", 99.9% of those people are actually talking about stress. If they were really talking about actual anxiety, they'd know that when you are in the middle of an anxiety attack, you're not looking for something to help with the anxiety. You're in full on panic mode and you're actually not thinking. There is something that shuts down all logic and reason in your brain. If you have enough wherewithal to reach for an oil or do some breathing techniques, it's not anxiety, so stop using that word. When you are in the middle of an anxiety attack, you aren't going to remember any of that. There was a technique that I read about when you visualize certain things to help calm you when you feel an attack coming on. I remembered step one and then couldn't remember the rest and it added to my anxiety because then it wasn't just a meltdown about whatever I was melting down about, but it was also about, "Why I'm such a failure and can't even remember something that is supposed to help?".
There are medications out there to help with anxiety. It's important to remember that they all come with their own set of side effects though. Medication helped me a little, but only for a little bit. I will say it again, there is no quick fix. If you have real anxiety, you need to learn how to get through it. You need to learn your triggers. You can do things that will help lower your stress, which could lessen your chance of anxiety attacks, depending on the triggers. You can use oils that help calm you. However, none of these things will stop your anxiety attacks.
So, from those of us out there who actually have anxiety, please stop calling your worries anxiety. You can feel anxious. You can be nervous. You can have worries. You can be stressed. You can be overwhelmed. But, until you actually experience an anxiety attack and feel like you're bat-shit crazy, then you don't have the right to call it anxiety and stop looking for quick fixes to it.
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