It’s finals week. Once again you’ve put yourself at the dreaded “borderline” for basically all your classes. The freak-outs begin. Maybe I’ll get an A? Maybe I’ll get a B? Maybe I won’t get into grad school? Maybe I’ll never get a job?
The stress is tearing you apart and you struggle to grasp any sense of sanity. Your head spins, breathing becomes difficult, and you feel your stomach turn. Face it, n the eyes of someone suffering from anxiety what you just went through for 10 minutes is only a fraction of what they often face for hours, days or weeks. Duration is not the only difference; people suffering from anxiety constantly feel as if they have to hide their panic attacks and breakdowns to avoid friends or family who think its “all in your head.” If only I had thought of that myself.
Anxiety can cause you to put everything into question for almost no reason at all. With every happening, word and interaction, you lay out the laundry list of situational “maybes” that haunt you. It seems so irrational to others but it is an uncontrollable state for sufferers. Anxiety is different for everyone, too. Very often I notice how people disregard someone’s anxiety disorder if it is not to the level of medication or visual judgment. You cannot tell a person has anxiety by looking at them. Just because you cannot see them suffering does not discredit their disorder. Unfortunately, the stigmas that come with mental disorders make it difficult for people to feel comfortable telling others. Although it seems easier to hide everything, having a strong system of people behind you is so much healthier.
The power of maybe is one known all to well by anyone who has dealt with anxiety before. It’s overwhelming nature can often make you feel so small and misguided. But what you have to understand is that although it doesn’t really get better, YOU do. You will grow strong as a person not to avoid anxiety completely but to understand that after every panic attack or fallout, you are nothing less for having anxiety. Though the power of maybe can be strong at times, in the end you are stronger.
