Let's Talk: Anxiety

I was diagnosed with anxiety at the same time as I was diagnosed with depression (age 9). Anxiety isn't just feeling worried about your hair or your body shape; its so much more. (I'm not saying that body insecurity isn't real, though.) It's holding an orange peel for the entirety of snack time in 2nd Grade because you were waiting for someone else to throw away their orange peel so you didn't stand out. Heaven forbid you throw away your snack first. People will think you ate it far too fast and you're probably a pig for eating a whole orange. Make sure to hide the peel in your hand so people can't see. It's jumping to the WORST POSSIBLE conclusion that has ever been thought up. Like, ever. Mine usually end up in the death of a family member of one of my dogs. Or hostage situations. Or kidnappings. --- I was with one of my dear friends at a dance party with some high school and college age kids as well as some kids my age. Some of the people were on stage dancing and he recommended that I go up and dance. I told him that I was far to anxious already from the loud music and the amount of people to dance, to which he responded with, "Oh, well, dancing will make the anxiety go away. It would be fun." I said that I would have no fun if I danced because my brain worked that way. He said, "Just don't be anxious." Big no-no. Mind you, I'm not usually this snarky. Its just that I was worked up already. So I responded (with my hands pressed to the side of my face in awe and as much sarcasm as I could muster), "Oh WOW! You've just cured my crippling anxiety and depression! Thanks!" He didn't have a chance to respond because I had already run to my mum in tears. She yelled at him and he apologized profusely. Please, please, PLEASE never tell someone with a mental illness to just not be anxious/sad/angry/etc. That isn't how it works. If your dog died, you wouldn't want someone to tell you to just "not be upset". It hurts like nobody's beeswax to be told that your illness or emotions aren't valid, even indirectly. I have since forgiven my aforementioned friend, but it took my a long time. It broke my trust and my heart. Telling people things like this can, and probably will, tear apart friendships, at least for a time. As for the anxious thoughts themselves, they're awful. They can be anything from "people are staring at me" to "he's going to get out of that truck and shoot us all up". You can blame that on the media, but I'll blame it on my mental illness. I cannot tell you all the countless times I've had to shake myself out of a random (and highly improbable) scenerio that's made its way into my head. These tend to end up with one of my parents dead and me getting kidnapped, or car accidents. They aren't always voilent, though. I can worry about literally anything. I worry about being on the Ellen Show sometimes. I haven't sent a letter and I have no special talent, so WHY I worry about being on T.V. beats me. I worry about things that will NEVER happen. Like, things to do with magic or the supernatural. Things that are actually impossible. But I still worry about them and I can't help it. TL;DR: Anxiety is more than body insecurity and don't tell people that their emotions aren't valid. Thanks.