Anxiety and How It Feels
Anxiety is a strange feeling. When I first started to get anxiety the only way I could explain it was that it felt like excitement, yet I wasn’t excited. Quite frightened, actually. It was like nothing I had ever felt before, and not in a good way. I wasn’t quite sure what the feeling could be until a month or so afterward, when I began to figure it out, and my sibling helped me to understand what it was.
Anxiety is something that happens when your fight or flight reflexes kick in at random times, for no particular reason. When you aren’t in any trouble at all, it can act up, and cause huge damage to your mental health. It isn’t something you are born with. In fact, it is something your brain makes up, and with the right help, you can find the right way to make yourself feel less anxious. This has to do with methods that work for you.
While I won’t go too deep into methods, since my friend Liam is going to be talking mostly about what helps him with anxiety, and what he does to get rid of it, I will share two of my methods that have greatly helped me. The first of these is called a worry stone. It’s something you can buy online, in stores, or simply find on the ground. It’s a smooth stone that you can carry in your hand and rub whenever you begin to feel anxious. One of the reasons this works is because often touching objects will help get you out of panic mode. Another thing I would suggest is drinking water. You will often get dehydrated when you are in fight or flight mode, so although it may not completely take away your anxiousness, it should help to steady your breathing and get you back on the right track!
Anxiety is usually the cause for panic attacks. There are three stages—from my experience—that happen when a panic attack is coming on. The first is regular anxiety, the second is an anxiety attack, and afterward it spirals into a panic attack. Often, when you are having a panic attack, you can feel numb, dizzy, shaky, and your heart will be racing. Of course, there are more extreme symptoms as well, but those are the main ones that most people will experience. Though the methods are ways to make sure you don’t have a panic attack, just remember that if you ever do, they will pass. They don’t last forever. Stay strong and positive, and remember that you will get through this!
Take care!
~ Georgia, Young Adult Advisory Board Secretary
This post is part of a series “Mental Health: Teen to Teen,” written by teens in the library’s Young Adult Advisory Board.
The Young Adult Advisory Board is made up of teen volunteers who desire to help with and be a part of the library’s events and services aimed at middle and high school students. Interested in joining? Fill out an application here.
