Having anxiety can be tough some days. Your palms sweat and your heart in racing. Overthinking is something you could take Olympic gold for, and you spend most nights thinking about every minor detail in your life. Here are some things I personally struggle with, and maybe some of you how also have anxiety can relate to!

1. FOMO

The fear of missing out (FOMO) is something a lot of people deal with. For people with anxiety, this is like pouring gasoline on a wildfire when it comes to going out. You want to grab coffee with friends, or respond to the cute boy on tinder about going out on a date, but your anxiety holds out a big stop sign. Your nerves get the best of you until you are physically unable to move. Then what can feel even worse is knowing you want to go out, your brain is just telling you that's a stupid idea, and staying in and watching Netflix alone is a lot better. You begin to overthink and immediately think your friends hate you because you have been “ditching” them more and more often. This is painful because you desperately want to see and hang out with your friends, but your mind and body are telling you no for reasons unknown.

2. Trying to Act Calm on the Outside

People with anxiety are masters at this trait. When I tell people I’ve been diagnosed with anxiety their responses are almost always “really? I would never have guessed!” Although this seems like a small victory, your mind is constantly at war with itself and there is so many things going on inside it's hard to concentrate most of the time. You try and try to suppress all the voices in your head, until it almost is like a white noise, so you feel brave enough to face the world while seeming perfectly calm, when really all you want to do is scream.

3. Sleep is Either Your Best Friend or Your Worst Nightmare

I struggle with sleep pretty much every night. I lay awake in bed and my body feels very heavy and tired, but my mind is fully awake. I find myself thinking about everything I’ve said and done during the day and what I could have done differently. Then the fun part begins when I suddenly find those negative thoughts creeping in. “they don’t want to talk to you.” "You're going to be single forever” You're not going to make it in college” plays on repeat while all I want to do is sleep. Then my eyes shut and I drift off into sleep. But these thoughts are not done, and I wake up at 3 in the morning and not being able to fall asleep until I can convince my mind that everything will be ok, and what I’m thinking is not true.

4. Not Everyone Understands

Not everyone is going through the same thing. It is not fair to think that everyone will know what you are going through or how to handle it, but you just wish that more people knew what to say and do to make you not feel thing things that you are feeling. Even when someone says something that you know they don't mean in a bad way but can sound bad, it makes you not want to go out and just sit in and think about all of the things you could have done differently to make them not say what they did, and to make you feel like you didn't disappoint them.

5. There Are People Out There Who Care for You

When you are first diagnosed, it can be a little scary. You have no idea what to do, and listening to a doctor tell you all the things that are going wrong inside your brain makes you feel somewhat defeated. But I can tell you it does get better. The best things you can do is go talk to someone. Whether it's an on-campus counselor, or your local psychiatrist, talking to someone really does help. They can help set up medication if needed and are someone you can go to pretty much anytime without feeling embarrassed or uncomfortable. Being open with your friends and family is also key. They won't know how to help you or how you're feeling unless you communicate. I know sometimes it might not feel like anyone is in your corner, but the main thing to remember is that there are always people there for you.

Anxiety sucks, but it is something you can learn to live with; which is something I am starting to understand. You're going to have good days as well as bad days, but it does not define you. You are much stronger than you think and there are people out there who love and support you.