A Glimpse into Anxiety Disorder

Note from the Writer: I've suffered from Lyme disease all my life, and one of the very critical symptoms of such a disease is severe anxiety.  This is my personal account of what it feels like to suffer from severe anxiety caused by the physical bacteria in my body.  Anxiety disorder is not always necessarily just a disorder all by itself, rather it is often times a symptom of greater imbalances in the body.  This has been my case for years, and I've finally decided to open up about it and raise awareness for the inward torture that so many people seem to struggle with.

​I've spent such a large majority of time thinking as I've laid in bed sick, and I've come to believe that life often involves large amounts of loss...

The loss of a job...  
The loss of an irreplaceable item...  
The loss of physical abilities that you once had...  
The loss of someone you love dearly...  
The loss of certain people you know should be in your life, but they just aren't because they choose not to be... I've lost all of these things at one point or another, and it's lead me to believe that loss is something that creates anxiety and depression in the minds and hearts of so many hurting people.

Because when you lose something precious, it opens the door to the fear of what you could possibly lose next.

I supposed that's what happened to me in the midst of my Lyme journey... Lately, I feel as though I'm losing more imperative things...
My mind...
My patience...
My temper...
My sanity...
My will to live...

I don't believe that my anxiety triggers my Lyme disease.  Rather, my Lyme disease is a root-cause of the severe anxiety that plagues me on a daily basis.  And because Lyme disease never appears to cease, I've come to recognize that I've already lost so much... and my fear of losing more is petrifying at times.

---

​There are countless times where I'm sitting in church, and my heart feels as though it's pounding relentlessly hard in my chest.  Over the next passing minutes I begin to fear that one day my heart is going to suddenly jump out of my throat and run down the hall.  But I cannot vocalize that feeling to people... because it sounds crazy.

There are times when I'm shopping in a store, and I feel like no matter how deeply I try to breathe I cannot possible intake enough air in my lungs to stay alive.  So I feel this desperate need to breathe harder in attempt to acquire more air, almost as if all the oxygen in the room will never be enough.  But I cannot express this awful sensation to people... because it sounds crazy.

There are times where I feel like I have microscopic bugs crawling down my spine, hiding in my joints, and lingering under my skin.  And I feel like if I can scratch them out of my skin then maybe I'd be a little less broken, and a little more beautiful.  In reality this illusion that my anxiety creates only leaves me with ugly scars and more feelings of brokenness.  But I cannot verbalize this itch to people... because it sounds crazy.

There are times I fear like everyone is out to attack me.  There are times I can't get my hands to stop trembling.  There are times that the pit in my stomach just seems to grow bigger and bigger without any warning, and suddenly I feel as though the world around me is about to explode in one massive freak accident.  These feelings exist in my head, even if the world outside of me is perfectly silent, and perfectly at peace.  But putting such feelings down on paper makes me feel crazy.

These are a few of the MANY sensations of anxiety brought on by Lyme disease, and the saddest component of it all is that these symptoms that so many of us suffer from are NOT TALKED ABOUT ENOUGH!  Nobody is listening and nobody is expressing enough compassion and love, therefore creating a more fear, anxiety, and a sense of loss in the hearts and minds of our society.

---

​So what do we do?  How do we cope?  How do we gain a sense of safety and security in an anxiety-riddled body among our fear-riddled society?

Well... I can share with you what I do:

I spend a little time every day breathing deeply and remembering the strength and power that I have as a daughter of God.  I avoid talking down about myself as I seek to recognize that the disease that I have is very real, and I still have worth despite the regular symptoms that I deal with.  I seek to stand out in a shallow and uncaring society and attempt every day to love deeply, care about others, and seek to have compassion toward those around me.

You see, illness and symptoms of illness such as severe anxiety are not in control of us.  It's important to recognize that we aren't losing our minds, and there is ALWAYS a reason to keep living.  Severe anxiety doesn't cause weakness, rather it strengthens us.  Every time I have a brutal flare, I wake up the next morning a little bit stronger than I was the day before.  I become a woman with a little more resilience, a little more patience, and a little more appreciation for the moments when I can and do feel a joy more pure and penetrating than I could have ever experienced before Lyme disease.  The hope comes from knowing that all of us can grow from our sufferings in this way.

We all have the ability and the means to respond to our suffering in a meaningful and strengthening way.   It will never be easy, and there are absolutely days where you will feel crazy, but it's important to remember that you are absolutely NO SUCH THING.  You're not alone, you're not crazy, and you have something to offer.  Every one of God's beautiful children has something to offer, even if you suffer from an illness or from some other trial or struggle that seems insufferable at times.

You are loved.
You are remembered.
Your tears are accounted for.
And most importantly, your joy is something worth fighting for, and it is absolutely obtainable.

I believe that one of the most important things we can all do is listen.  Stop shutting people down and shutting people out due to the discomfort that comes with discussing such difficult things.  Stop spending the majority of your time looking inward.  Instead, look outward and look up.  Listen.  Love.  Care.  Have compassion.  Everybody needs those things from others, that's why we were all put here on this earth together.  Whether or not the battle is worth it all depends on how we choose to respond.

We all can be Chronically Beautiful.  Even in the midst of being chronically ill, chronically anxious, or chronically in pain.  There is always hope.  We simply have to look for it.