When Anxiety Comes Knocking (And Just Won’t Stop)

I’m sitting here, typing away on my laptop, when all of the sudden I realize— wow, I am incredibly on edge today. As part of my OCD and clinical depression diagnosis, bouts of mild-to-severe anxiety aren’t at all uncommon or even unexpected in my day-to-day life, but every time they hit they hit hard.

Today is one of those days. I’m a few days out from my birthday, which I thought would elevate my mood this week, but here we are. The anxiety has come knocking, and I feel like I am doing everything in the world incorrectly and that everything is going wrong. But, here’s the thing— that isn’t true. Anxiety is a notorious liar, and some of the lies it tells me (or you, or anyone) can be dispelled with some positive self-talk and moments of reflection. Here’s what I mean:

I wish I felt this “sunshine-y” all the time, but I definitely don’t always feel so great. However, it’s worth remembering who I am and what I’m worth even on the worst of my anxiety days. (Photo: Sheena Pendley DP)

Your anxiety is lying to you.

Your anxiety is a liar. Repeat that again: your anxiety is a liar. If your anxiety behaves anything like mine, it may tell you things like, “You aren’t loved,” or, “You are worthless.” It may surprise some (the bubbly, extroverted person that I am) that I get negative thought-storms like this at times, but I most definitely do. The best tip a therapist ever taught me, however, is that in order to cope with such thoughts (and dispel them) we must remember that these thoughts, no matter how intrusive, simply aren’t true. Anxiety may fill up your brain with its relentless fury, but that doesn’t mean it knows what it’s talking about or is telling the truth— in fact, as I stated above, anxiety is a liar and often these negative thought-loops we get stuck in aren’t at all based in reality.

It’s important to remember what is real when we’re dealing with anxiety symptoms. Your anxiety may tell you lies, but grounding yourself in a quick, reassuring conversation with a loved one (even via text or over the phone) or reminding yourself who you are and how much you’re worth can, in my experience, take the edge off.

I don’t have a cure-all for anxiety symptoms— I’m medicated and generally doing well most of the time, but even my anxiety symptoms kick my butt occasionally. However, I do find it comforting to know that I can assert to myself (and my anxious mind) that anxiety is lying to me and the reality of my “panic” thoughts are never as bad as they seem. Other coping mechanisms I’ve found helpful (other than trying to ground myself in rational thought + reassuring conversation with loved ones) include the tried and true “disengage” tactics— just taking a break, taking deep breaths, anything that gets my mind to slow down and stop moving for a minute or so tends to be super helpful.

That said, I don’t have all the answers, but I wanted to share this today to reassure everyone else dealing with anxiety symptoms that they 1.) aren’t alone and 2.) don’t have to listen to their anxious thoughts, which tend to lie to us and make us feel less than what we truly are. Do you all have any anxiety coping tips that tend to help on particularly rough days? Let’s discuss, and hang in there, all.

Xoxo, MM.