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Anxiety and Introverts

The Lies and the Loneliness

By Lexi S.Published 6 years ago 2 min read
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Anxiety: (noun) a nervous disorder characterized by a state of excessive uneasiness and apprehension, typically with compulsive behavior or panic attacks. Has many different classifications: generalized, social, extreme.
Introvert: (noun) a person predominantly concerned with their own thoughts and feelings rather than with external things. Tends to prefer time to themselves or a very small group of people over large groups.

When looking at the definition of these two things, they seem as though these two things should never be in the same person. The sad truth is, there are more people than you think that are constantly second guessing themselves and internalizing those feelings. Anxiety makes you think things are horrible, that every person that you meet is going to hate you on sight. When you mix it with being an introvert, it leads you to miss all of the social cues that would allow for you to safely get yourself out of an uncomfortable situation. These two disorders can lead to people internalizing their thoughts of everyone disliking them, or not wanting to be around them. The person affected will be more likely to believe that these thoughts are actually the truth and they can lead to other issues, such as depression or self-harm.

People often discover that they are introverts when they are young, though some do not until they reach their teenage years. Typically, a person who is an introvert will being to withdraw from normal social interactions, preferring to either be by themselves or with a small group of people that they are close to. Anxiety, however, can present at any time in your life. While there are several kinds of anxiety (I suffer from social anxiety myself), everyone has some form of generalized anxiety, on one end of the scale or the other. While some are more severe, most are mild and controllable, to a point at least. Some people just have to have medication to deal with their anxiety (though, as I found out, social anxiety cannot be treated with medication unless that medication actually helps with the anxiety, instead of amplifying the effects of the anxiety, such as depression).

Dealing with your feelings before they become too much is one of the best ways to deal with both anxiety and being an introvert. Writing things down, painting, destroying things, and several other constructive things are the best ways to get your feelings out. Even though the thought may scare you, telling someone close to you about your feelings/emotions/anxieties is probably the best idea because they can help you sort through the thoughts that should be there, the ones that are helpful, and the thoughts that could lead to things like outbursts or panic/anxiety attacks.

There is no way to treat or explain being an introvert, unless you are one. The closest thing to explaining it is: imagine you are at a party and all of your thoughts and feelings are inside of a box that you are meant to be sharing with everyone else at the party. Instead of sharing those thoughts and feelings, you decide to keep the box to yourself and hide it away from everyone else. This feeling of needing to hide your feelings isn't something that can be controlled or changed. While it may seem weird to others and may even make a few of them angry or confused, it is not something that they can change to suit them. There have been quite a few times that my emotions have boiled over and I screamed at everyone, for no other reason than I had too many emotions running through me and I didn't know which way to turn or feel.

anxiety
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About the Creator

Lexi S.

Living life to the...who am I kidding, I'm laying in my bed wishing for a nap.

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