Here’s What It Feels Like To Have Anxiety

For those of us who struggle with anxiety, we know how debilitating it can be sometimes. And for those who don’t struggle or only know someone who has anxiety, this is what it feels like to have anxiety:

1. Like You’re In Physical Pain

You get that feeling of your stomach dropping, like you’re on a roller coaster during the big drop. But for you roller coaster lovers, it is not an exciting feeling, it’s terrifying.

Your breathing gets shorter, and it can feel as though there’s less oxygen around you then there was before you became anxious. Eventually you may start to feel nauseous, like you want to just throw up and get it out, except throwing up will not actually make you feel better considering the nausea is a product of the worry inside your head, not because of something bad you ate earlier.

2. Like The World Is Ending

Whatever is causing your anxiety is leading you to think irrational thoughts. In other words, the situation you are worrying about seems like it is the worst thing that could happen to you in that moment. When you’re having anxiety, it’s hard to think about the big picture, and ask yourself if what you are anxious about right now will actually matter for the rest of your life. A lot of the time, we worry about things that are very minor parts of our life and will probably not affect us much or at all in our future. But in that moment, it feels like whatever we are worrying about is the end of the world and we cannot escape it.

3. Like It Won’t End

When you are in a state of anxiousness, it is hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. What you are worrying about may seem like it will not end, which makes it more worrisome for someone who is already anxious. You want the feeling to end as soon as possible, and it just doesn’t seem like it will.

4. Like No One Else Feels Like This

Most of us do not like feeling abnormal, like there is something wrong with us. We feel comfort when other people experience the same feelings that we do, because that gives us validation that we are not alone in what we are feeling. You may get even more anxious by thinking that no one else is feeling what you’re feeling, and like you’re alone with your anxiousness.

5. Like You’re Being Controlled

When you are experiencing anxiety, it feels as though something came over you and is now controlling you. Ultimately, we can control how we perceive things, but when we experience anxiety, we feel like something else is controlling the way that we feel, something that we can’t even pinpoint what it is. Not having control of our own feelings makes us feel very uneasy.