We all know that anxiety has physical and emotional effects. No one can ever say that they have never experienced anxiety; anxiety is an intangible, inevitable thing. But, the term anxiety holds a different meaning to everyone. Some view anxiety as a temporary feeling when they have an exam that they procrastinated studying for, whereas others view anxiety as a disease that affects everyday lives. Being an anxious person by nature, I see different forms of it through myself and others. Here are a few things I have observed regarding anxiety:

1. Anxious people stress way too much about the little things.
   • Most girls stress out about little things, and overthink things, as well. That’s our nature. I stress out about whether or not my shirt fits right. I stress about whether or not somebody meant what they said. I stress about an exam that I have studied more than enough for. I stress out about EVERYTHING. But, anxious people can’t let it go. One thing a truly anxious person hears on a daily basis is, “Who cares?” or “Why does it matter?” It always matters when you have anxiety.
2. Anxious people are lonely people.
   • It is so hard to feel like you are not alone, especially when you overthink everything. It is also so difficult to understand that people do things unintentionally. Now, I understand that actions are just an outcome of the environment a person grows up in. If they were raised in an environment where their friends/family disrespect people, they will disrespect people, as a result. Once a person realizes this, their stress level decreases and they begin to feel less lonely because less things feel personal. Nonetheless, I have had my fair share of moments where I try to understand why something was said or done, and what the person means by it. My brain just keeps analyzing every possible detail of the situation.
3. Anxious people are usually depressed.
   • When your mind is constantly analyzing different things, you begin to assume the worst. Like anyone, you resort to the most negative thought. So, when you’re constantly thinking about how or why something was done, the negative thoughts continue to pile up and eventually hurt you in the end.
4. Anxious people have their life together.
   • Believe it or not, most anxious people are not disorganized. The anxiety helps to kick start a sense of organization because anxiety is worse when you’re disorganized. We all know that. Personally, I know that I have had less anxiety from organizing my schoolwork or beginning to use a calendar or studying more, etc.
5. Most anxious people do not exercise often.
   • Most doctors recommend exercise for intense anxiety because you have so much bottled up energy inside. Right now, I am not exercising due to injury, and my anxiety has increased tremendously. But, when I did exercise heavily, I was never anxious and I hardly had any stress. Some have anxiety regardless of exercise, however.

Of course, these observations are not applicable to every person suffering with anxiety. These are only a few observations I have made. Anxiety is a very underrated thing. To me, it is comparable to a gateway drug because it opens doors for other mental illnesses to enter.