No, Everybody DOESN'T Hate You and Other Lies Your Anxiety Tells You

Anxiety is something that we, as human beings, have dealt with through our whole existence on Planet Earth.

Sometimes, anxiety to people just means being a little more than nervous. Maybe you're quitting a job you hate but nervous to tell your employer. You're nervous for this big job interview. That's natural.

What isn't natural is when anxiety manifests and basically takes over your brain, and life.

Anxiety, when manifesting, will make you so freaked out that you can throw up. It will make you afraid to turn the sugar bowl the wrong way, because if you do something different than you ever have, no matter how minuscule, it can ruin your whole day. It can make everything go wrong. Because you think that's how the universe works: everything isn't in your own favor.

Anxiety lies to you. It makes you believe things that you would have never thought of. It makes you think that if you haven't heard from your best friend in three days, that they don't want to be your friend anymore. It makes you think when you walk into a room of your coworkers that they're all silently judging you. It makes you think that nobody wants you there, that you are a worthless excuse of space and should leave. I know that sounds extreme, but it's true. That's how your brain works.

But, these are lies. People DO love you, people DO want you there, or else you wouldn't be employed there. There are so many lies anxiety tells you, but you shouldn't believe them.

You shouldn't believe that your best friend hates you and doesn't want to be your friend anymore because they haven't talked to you in the last few days. They're busy too, they have lives and you can't be sucked into your phone all day. It just isn't how it works.

You shouldn't believe that your coworkers don't want you there. It's human nature to look where there is a noise, but that doesn't mean they're judging you. If one of them are, they're probably just jealous.

You shouldn't believe that you are going to have a bad day because you are telling yourself everything will be okay. Positive vibes = positive life.

You shouldn't believe that your significant other is just going to leave you like the rest of 'em have in the past. Love is love—you have to work at it, every day. Sometimes, the best things in life aren't easy.

You shouldn't believe that you aren't worthy enough. You are here, on Earth. You are enough.

I know, I know. It's easier said than done. It's hard to re-train your brain, when you really aren't sure when it shifted. It's hard to understand when you aren't sure when you went from a happier person to someone who can't have a happy thought without some anxiety behind it.

Everyone deals with this differently. Not everyone with anxiety will hide in bed all day and cry. Sometimes this means they are short tempered, more than normal. Sometimes this means they're short with you, or they've kind-of backed off from talking to everyone. It can be seen as a cry for help without saying anything, but this also can mean that they just need someone to ask if they're okay. Sometimes, it's hard to just text your best friend "things aren't okay again" because you're afraid that they won't talk to you about it, or you just don't want to talk about it.

Not everybody deals with anxiety the same. Sometimes people don't even understand what you're talking about because they don't truly understand—because they don't deal with it.

Those are people I am envious of. I wish I didn't understand any of this.

Anxiety is a bitch. A big 'ol angry bitch. It'll make you believe things that aren't true. No matter what it's about, don't ever be afraid to talk to someone about it, or do something about it. Don't let anxiety tell you any different.