On Anxiety

What is anxiety? In my experience and opinion, it’s unprocessed emotions that manifest as feeling overwhelmed. Your systems start shutting down and you want to recede in a corner. You start getting agitated on minor things and you just want the world to pause.

Does it sound familiar to you? I am sure it does, I think every person at some point or the other feels this way in their life. What this means is that anxiety is not a malady, it’s a part of life. There are many things that aggravate it and many things that soothe it.

Here are a few that I think make it worse. An overload of information makes it worse, a lack of sleep makes it worse, unloving environments make it worse, and unfamiliar situations make it worse.

What makes it better?

Exercise helps, closing your eyes and deep breathing really helps, a good night's sleep really helps, and praying really helps. What fixes it though is writing. Writing helps you process what you’re feeling and what is leading you to feel overwhelmed. It feels like the knots of anxiety are untangled one knot at a time. This process feels cathartic and therapeutic. Writing daily through journaling helps you reduce the chances of your emotions getting tangled, however, having said that, this is life and there is no sure-shot way of removing the stressors of life from your life altogether.

I believe until the human condition exists, anxiety will be part and parcel of it. Anybody who aims to run away from it by distancing from society in any way or form is indulging in escapism. Life is an experience to be embraced. It comes with its ebbs and flows, which need to be ridden and experienced to enjoy the full spectrum of life. What is needed to deal with your unique kind of anxiety is to find ways to manage it and cope with it and if there is one thing I found to be true in the past 4 decades is that this too shall pass — be it good or bad — so enjoy the ride :).