mh
becoming aware of the fact that i have pretty frequent anxiety attacks has helped me to manage them and also to push past the feeling of “oh god everyone hates me and im gonna die” any time i do ANYTHING
but that still isnt stopping me from on one hand being like “me and my friend are gonna go to the arcade sometime soon :)” and on the other hand being like “oH gOd i have to decide WHEN to go to the arcade and I HAVE TO BE CHILL THERE TOO”
mh
i was reading like, the webmd page for anxiety the other day just because its been a couple years since i actually looked at information about it / coping mechanisms
and like lol literally On the page was like, “Sometimes people with social anxiety experience panic attacks when they know they’re going to be in a social encounter”
and I wAs likE!! THATS ME!!! I DO THAT!!!!!
re: mh
re: mh
mh
@soft this!! i was scared for years that being honest about how i felt would “solidify” it or something. make it “worse.” but it doesn’t work like that
mh
@mood yES oh my gosh. literally /exactly/ this!!!
like, it’s so easy to think that talking about anxieties will only confirm them when the vast majority of the time its the opposite!!!
mh
@soft i blame decades of old school counselors and therapists and self help books telling people that “pretending to feel fine” is how to feel fine. they got everyone training themselves to ignore, deny, and mask.
mh
@soft Glad you’re getting a handle on it, anyway 💜
mh
@ghost_bird thank you!! me too. 😤💕
mh
but also i’ve just been more open about saying shit like “I feel nervous/panicky right now” or just, voicing dumb anxieties when im having conversations with family/friends
and its made coping with them a little better.