We're all a little crazy...

Anxiety appears to come from nowhere and creeps up on you, rising uncomfortably until you’re dizzy and faint. It wakes you up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night, adding irrational thoughts to your already worried mind. Although it is derived from our instinctive reaction to stress or danger, it can make you feel utterly insane.

Anxiety is horrific. But actually, it is incredibly common. More than 1 in 10 people are likely to have a ‘disabling anxiety disorder’ at some stage in their life (1). Acknowledging this reality is important for a number of reasons.

Amongst the terrifying thoughts that accompany anxiety are that of feeling you are losing your sanity; that no one would understand how you are feeling as you are not ‘normal’. Of course this in turn heightens your anxiety. It is a vicious circle. The reality is that so many people have experienced what you are going through. When I was in the grips of severe anxiety, discovering that what I was experiencing was incredibly common and I wasn’t in fact strange and insane, was a huge relief.

On the flip side of this, it can be incredibly isolating hearing others freely talk of their struggles whilst you feel unable to do the same. The most recent Psychiatric Morbidity Survey indicates that just 25% of those with a common mental health problem are currently receiving treatment for it (1). Acknowledging just how common these struggles are can give us the confidence to share our journey whilst being sensitive to the fact that others may be suffering similar things. It eliminates so-called ‘us and them’ thinking, which can isolate people who are yet to get help.

As intense and terrifying as anxiety is, it’s important to remember that what we are feeling isn’t real. It is our mind irrationally predicting that negative events will happen in the future and over estimating the possibility of these disasters. It’s an apt demonstration of how we can easily lose track of things by ourselves. But there is relief; there are ways of training your mind such as CBT which is incredibly effective for anxiety, there are other people to help you keep perspective and there is faith.

For the last few months I have suffered from extreme anxiety; something I had rarely come across previously. Acknowledging that I am not alone in this helped immensely. Finally accepting how I am feeling rather than worrying further about this reality has been hugely beneficial. In all things, I find pursuing light, positivity and hope relentlessly is essential. Sometimes all we are able to do is hold on, knowing there will be a time when we’re no longer slaves to what we’re going through. Though I strongly believe in the power of both therapy and positive thinking, I would be lacking integrity if I didn’t admit that finding Jesus has been the only thing that keeps me truly rooted, even in the darkest of times.

1). Statistics taken from:

http://www.anxietyuk.org.uk/get-help-now/anxietyinformation/frequently-asked-questions/#sthash.TkGuhoAN.dpuf