No Laughing Matter

Sorry for the few of you reading, I've been super busy with school and work. I had little time to blog.

Most of my friends and people I know, know that I have anxiety. It started when I was about 12 years old.

My first real anxiety was storms. Thunder, lightening, the wind, hail, most of all tornadoes. Any time a warning or watch was issued, I gathered up my room and headed for the basement. The basement had become a second home for me, it evolved from me sleeping on a leftover baby crib mattress, to an oversize bean bag chair, to a full fledged twin sized bed. I have half of the basement.

Literally.

As the storms rolled in, the more things I brought downstairs. Eventually, we got a bookshelf, a desk, and a place for a TV should we ever decide to finish the basement. After I while I did start to just hang out downstairs. In the summer it was the coolest place int the house and during the school year, I would go down there to write a paper or read a book, since there are few distractions.

After a long story that I don't feel blaring to the Internet yet, my parents made me go to a therapist. After we worked out a few things we moved on to my anxiety. My junior year of high school (I think) I was in a case study for kids with anxiety. It helped, but I was still getting worked up. Senior year I had a full  on panic attack during a tornado warning while at school.

I met my new therapist my freshman year of college. She really helped me out! She helped me get over many of the anxieties I didn't knew I had. One of the most helpful things she taught me was to rate my anxiety level before a storm or an event happened. The list everything good and bad about the event

i.e. There's going to be a tornado.

Pro (for the tornado)        
The weather man says there's a possibility
It is really windy outside
There is a watch out for the area about the event

Con (against the tornado)
The weather man says that the possibility is low
It is sunny out
A watch means to be alert not that it will actually happen
There is wind everyday

The list could go on, but eventually the items going against the even will out weight the items going for the event and you see that anxiety is really just letting the fear get the better of you.


That is all anxiety is: Letting the fear get the better of you. And I know from experience, getting all worked up looks like it is dramatic, and it can be. DO NOT LET ANYONE TELL YOU THAT YOU ARE WRONG TO BE ANXIOUS OR AFRAID. Everyone has a right to be afraid of something and act on it, but if the way you're acting is taking away from your everyday things like school, work, or family, then you need to seek out help.

Asking for help is not a sign of weakness, it shows that you want to get better and move on. Find someone that you can trust, a friend, family member etc... and let them know what is going on.

If you know someone that has anxiety, listen to them. Do not tell them they are overreacting or laugh at them. Help them get the help they need or just calm them down and distract them from the event.


I know this is long, but if you have any questions, comment and I will try the best I can to answer, if I can't I'll find the answer and direct you to it

Best,

Ashley