I’ve always been an overthinker. To me, it’s a natural part of life. Growing up, I always admired people who could just go with the flow and not worry about every small thing that occurred in their life. But as I got older, I noticed that my anxiety had gotten worse. There were times that I would give myself headaches from all the negative thoughts I filled my head with, and slowly I began to resent the way anxiety was affecting my health, keeping me from growing as a person, and experiencing life. My anxiety and I are like two roommates who are forced to live together–I’m not happy about it, but I’m dealing with it the best way that I can. The thing about anxiety is that it’s different for everyone. For me, it’s heavy. Every once in a while it feels like it unloads the contents of its suitcase on my chest and leaves it all up to me to figure out what to do with it. The extra weight not only slows me down, but it changes me. On my worst days, I feel disconnected from everyone and everything. The toughest part for me is opening up and talking when I’m struggling; I try to solve my problems on my own because I feel like no one will truly understand or care to know how I’m feeling. But in a world full of seven billion people, I surely cannot be the only one who has to deal with this. I realized that being honest and open about my experiences will help others who are going through a similar situation. It took a long time for me to realize that my anxious thoughts are nothing more than just that, thoughts. Though it will never fully go away, I am learning how to control my anxiety and how I react to the stressors in my life. One way that I’ve been able to do this is through the 5-second rule. If you’ve never heard of it, it’s really simple, but it changed my life: – Your brain is used to going into overdrive in order to protect you–it accomplishes this by keeping you from doing anything that feels scary or uncertain. The 5-second rule can help you prevent your mind from working against you and give you the push you need to accomplish hard tasks. – The next time you feel a desire to act on a goal or commitment, or you feel yourself hesitating before doing something that you need to do, count 5-4-3-2-1 and move to action. The counting will focus you on the goal or commitment and distract you from the worries, thoughts, and excuses that you create in your mind. Lastly, according to best-selling author Mel Robbins, “your body doesn’t know the damn difference between anxious and excited-it experiences the same symptoms. It’s your thoughts that give those feelings a label.” So the next time you are feeling overwhelmed because of your anxiety, remember that it does not define you. You can regain your control. Tell yourself that you are excited about that job interview, that big exam or that very first date. It’s amazing how much of a difference one simple thought can make, trust me. To anyone who’s ever dealt with anxiety, I am so proud of you. I know that it’s not easy. Still, I’m in awe of your resilience and your ability to fight your pain with the passion to be better. You inspire me, so keep going.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UMKC chapter.