“You don’t have to control your thoughts. You just have to stop letting them control you.” ~Dan Millman
Anyone who has ever gotten an anxiety attack knows how it feels to feel completely helpless. It feels like it is almost impossible to breathe and quite frankly it feels like you're going to die since it's just that difficult to get a full deep breath and you can't focus on anything besides trying to do the what should be the easiest thing to do-breathe! Not until I was about fourteen did I ever experience an anxiety attack and I can honestly say it is the worst thing ever. The advice I have gotten over the years is basically to tell my mind that the situation I am in is not really happening. Which, I don't understand because clearly when I say I'm not able to breathe it's because I really can't breathe. All the advice that I have been told is a lot easier said than done like the quote I included above. It's hard to not let your thoughts control you because anxiety attacks like mine sprout from subconscious thoughts. To this day I do not understand why I get them because I'm never afraid of simple things. For example, sometimes I will be laying down in my bed and all of the sudden it's hard to breathe and it keeps me up until I get over it. The attacks range in how bad I freak out. Most times I keep it to myself because it's easier to forget about that way. The more severe ones where I freak out and start crying uncontrollably usually happen when I tell someone because that's when I think it's bad and I think I might pass out or something. I've never actually passed out but I always feel like I will because I get light headed and my fingers and toes and face get this tingling sensation that just scares me. In the back of my mind I always tell myself that everything will be okay. I always try to remember to pray while going through this and it does help me not to breathe, but to calm down.
I chose to write about this because this is something that has a big impact on my life. Just a few weeks ago I had to sit out from cheering at a game because of anxiety. My doctor has told me that most teenagers grow out of having anxiety attacks and that is one of my biggest hopes.It's really annoying and frustrating and I hope i won't have to deal with this for my whole life.
Thanks for reading! (:
Reading this post, I could not help but to comment.
ReplyDeleteI can relate to this feeling. I have my own set of anxiety to deal with, and I also experience minor anxiety attacks. It's not a great feeling at all. For me, my anxiety comes from that feeling of helplessness and loneliness. It's as if I feel like I am drowning in a sea of my own emotions, thoughts, and psychological pain. It becomes hard to breathe, and a majority of the time the only solution at the moment is to just wait it out, and tell myself I am going to be okay.
For me, one way of thinking that helped me with my anxiety was optimism. It helps us come to realization that we are indeed strong enough to keep moving forward. Stay confident!
Although anxiety is affecting my life, it's not as big of an impact for me compared to most other things. I tend to worry a lot, which helps me get things done.
I hope you as well as those who suffer from anxiety attacks in their teenage years grow out of it. Be strong Brianna, you got this! :D