Anxiety: What it feels like and what it looks like.

These past few weeks or so, I've asked people on tumblr if they suffer from anxiety attacks to describe them to me or if you've seen someone suffer from them to describe what they look like. The reason for this experiment was to see how anxiety affects people and how they react to it. 

What really sparked the idea in my brain was the anxiety attack I had a few weeks ago. My mom had a bad coughing fit and threw up in front of me, apparently it was the first time I've seen vomit so vividly or whatever and I had an attack after the danger was over. It came as a complete surprise to me because even though I've had anxiety attacks before, it wasn't for something as mundane as vomit! It was more of a panic than anything; I didn't know why my body was shaking, why I wasn't moving and why I started crying. It was scary. 

Which made me think;  how do others react? Is it the same? Is it worse?

But more than that, it made me think about the people who see it happening. What do they think? How do they react? And how does it affect them? 

SO! Without further or do, here's what people said:

Obviously, these were just a few of the answers because some I felt were too personal for me to publish and it just didn't feel right. 

I also asked one of my best friends who saw me have an anxiety attack at school to see what she felt or how she saw it and all. She said that I was crying histerically and she felt helpess and didn't know what to do. 

Which I completely understand, because I would react the same if reverse. 

The reason for this is to remind people that if they suffer from anxiety, that they are not alone. At all. You have so many people who have these attacks and it breaks my heart. I was reading these and I remember almost crying because of how heartbreaking it is for people to suffer like this. 

And I know what it's like and it's not pretty. It makes you feel like shit and you feel like you can't control your body or your emotions, and it sucks! I'm upset that some people just brush it off as "feeling nervous"or "just being afraid". No. It's SO much more than that! And if I can help in any way to raise awarness about it by doing this, then I will! 

If you have any stories about your anixety attacks that you would like to share, feel free to email or message me on tumblr! 

PS. All you have to do is breathe, darlings. That's the thing about anxiety attacks, they always pass. 

xoxo,

- Merzy