It's 4:45 am and I'm staring at my phone. My fingers cannot seem to unlatch the grip of this mobile device long enough for my brain to relax and allow me to sleep. My chest feels as though a large human is sitting on top of it and my head cannot seem to slow down. Thoughts are flooding through my head and I am frantically trying to think of a way to push them out. I can't stop thinking about yesterday when I said hi to my friend walking to class and she did not even want to stop to talk to me. Is she mad at me? I can't stop thinking about the ridiculous amount of homework I have to do tomorrow. Is it all going to get done? When will I have time to go to the gym? Oh, and my little sister asked me to help her with her math homework. When is that going to get done? I have to work on Wednesday and I have a HUGE test on Thursday. When am I going to study? My credit cards are all maxed out and my credit score is not looking too hot. Where am I going to get the money to pay off all of these bills? My student loans are going to KILL me one day. Will I ever own a house? I am going to be living at home forever.

I grew up thinking I was a worry wart, and then when I was about 13 I educated myself further and realized that I have been struggling from anxiety. I think we all tend to struggle from this, yet some worse than others. To me it is not our struggles that define who we are, yet it is how we react and try to deal with these struggles that truly define us.

Anxiety tends to come in waves. Sometimes it completely blind sides you. Most of the time, if you sit down and really try to pick apart why you are feeling anxious and what may have lead to the anxiety, you can figure it out, but a majority of the time, my anxiety cannot be resolved because there was no cause. It is just this overwhelming feeling of negative emotion that is hard to push away. It takes over your body and turns you into everything you never want to be. It causes you to shut down and have a hard time functioning properly because all of your thoughts are racing too quickly to even control.

I want you to know you are not alone. I want you to know that everyone experiences anxiety at some point in their lives and that we CANNOT let it define us. There are so many ways to work through this feeling other than shutting down and letting it completely consume you.

I believe that physical activity is the cure to most anxiety, but who am I? I am no doctor, yet it has helped me so much over the years that it is my number one suggestion to all who struggle with anxiety ESPECIALLY college students. It is so important to take care of your body. Your body is your temple. Do good by your body and your body will do good by you. I am also a strong supporter of feeding your mind and soul with things that are positive for you. With that being said, spirituality and religion can help a lot with decreasing anxiety. I for one know that those things are not for everyone so maybe even feeding your soul with some nature every once in awhile and exploring the outdoors or even getting a better understanding of the universe. Anytime you feed yourself knowledge, you will notice instant results in the way you feel both mentally and emotionally. These are all great things.

Do not give up. Anxiety is so evident in this day in age, therefor we are not alone. Get up out of bed. Take a walk. Take a deep breath. The problems that you are worrying about are only a small fragment of your life compared to all that you have to live and be grateful for. Stop worrying. The world is going to keep revolving and the sun will rise and set each day so why not make it a good one and enjoy it. Help yourself. Feed your mind, body and soul with positivity and the anxiety will not completely disappear, but you will notice that it will get better. Life is good. Let it be.