Anxiety-Personal Narrative Analysis

Social anxiety is something I have always had although I did not always know what it was. I thought it was only something that those living under a rock and had never seen people had. I now know that anyone can have it. When I was a little kid, people would tell me what beautiful features I have and I would be so shy and self-conscious that I would hide behind my parents. My parents thought I was just shy but that was only part of it. I have failed many times and wasted many opportunities to expose myself to my anxiety and maybe even overcome it. Although I have always had social anxiety it only escalates the older I get. There was a time where I did not want to face my fears. I was told by not only my mom but many others that I would become agoraphobic. I never tried to get better. Ignoring “the monster” as I call

Not that i’m the only one different, but to me they're just my differences. I was so worried about my appearance and my anxiety I thought whatever I wore or did that would get attention was going to get negatively judged. Often my face would turn red in those situations and I would overthink it until the next time it occurred. My social anxiety also affected the quality of relationships I had and how many of them I had. Acting shy made it hard to engage with others without being awkward. Because of this I had no one to talk to about my anxiety. Yes, my parents loved me and I loved them, but there was no one person I could just open up to without having the thought of being judged. I feel this ultimately made my anxiety

When I was born I had a cleft lip and palate which is a birth defect where the tissues of your lip and mouth don’t develop properly when you’re developing in the womb. This leads to an opening in the roof of the mouth and the upper lip. As a result of this birth defect I started having surgeries from the time I was two weeks old up until this very day to fix the gap in the top of my mouth along with lip revisions, and dental procedures leading to over 15 or more surgeries. With the result of all these surgeries I was starting to experience a lot of panic attacks because I was so overwhelmed with all the obstacles I had been facing at the time and all the obstacles I had faced previously in life. Dealing with all these obstacles made me lack a sense of belonging and I was often very shy I didn’t talk much because I was afraid that people would judge me so I never really said much of

Social phobias, anxieties and negative self-talk are a constant struggle since my early childhood and adult life. The nervousness, fear of rejection, insecurities and self-consciousness makes it difficult to connect with people and to form close relationships. It often feels I am the one of few people who experiences these socially anxious symptoms. Adding to the dilemma, the awkwardness to speak in public is overwhelming, to creating imaginary scenarios in my head, and the uneasiness to order food at a restaurant. The fear to schedule a phone call for an appointment, to rehearse and practice conversations in my head is a daunting daily affair. The process inevitably resorts to negative self-talk when asked to engage and contribute in social

After being hospitalized for meningitis when I was eleven years old, I began to struggle with anxiety and a stutter. Although I did not have these problems before my illness, no one is certain that meningitis was the cause.

As a child growing up with social anxiety disorder, I know firsthand that it reduces the quality of life. I feel as if I have been wronged in life because of this disorder, it has robbed me of my potential happiness. Growing up was not easy, I constantly felt like I was being judged, I had a hard time making friends and an even harder time keeping them. Every day was an obstacle that I just wanted to avoid, I was even afraid to get on my school bus because I thought people would talk bad about me as I was making my way to a seat. My family didn’t even understand how much this was affecting me, they believed that my avoiding human contact was because I was depressed and wanted to put me in therapy. I became so jealous of people who had so much confident and would not even blink an eye when they were made to present in front of the class. This disorder got me in a lot of trouble in my first year of middle school, I became so afraid of the change and people that I was scared to attend class and I refused for 52 day to go. I was put on probation for truancy just because I was scared of people. Later when I attended high school, I thought it had gone away but I was wrong because it hit me harder than ever. Presentations were required and I panicked, each and every time I stood in front of the class. I would get shaky and I would start to stutter. Social anxiety gave me the title of being weird, apparently not talking makes you stand out even when

Personally, I have gone through a recovery process with anxiety disorder. Last year, I went through a dark phase because I dealt with the feeling of constant fear with no little explanation 24hrs. Even though everything in my life was perfect, I could not sleep, eat, and be happy. I was excessively worrying something bad could happen to me and I was unable to relax.As months progressed, my situation got worse that it impacted my daily activities in life such as going to school or work. I felt like I was suffocating deep in my thoughts and trapped in a prison. However, no one in my family could understand what was going on. My family would make comments such as stop fearing and pray. I felt so miserable that I could not have peace inside me.

Socializing, big crowds, random people staring at me are all my fears. Most people don’t have the ability to get over social anxiety; I didn’t go through therapy nor did I join an official support group, I grew up with a loving family, although we had our share of family trouble. During middle school, I was homeschooled with parent’s that worked full-time and a sister attending college. I was constantly at home during the day. I wasn’t allowed to go outside nor bring anyone in the house unless someone was home with me and that was very rare. So there I was just a pre-mature teen with no friends or social skills. I sought out friendship in virtual realms with chat-sites such as “Zwinky” and “IMVU (gaming)”. I created an alter-ego to hide my

At the age of 18, I started experiencing symptoms of anxiety, and for a period of 3 years I pushed through and preserved with this illness and managed to somehow stay afloat, even in extreme situations. After having an epiphany of how I wanted to live my life, I came to a conclusion that pushing through wasn’t going to be enough; I had to make the conscious effort to be better. The first step I took was admitting there was a problem, and taking responsibility. This action not only begun the steps to full recovery and liberation, but also made me realize that the fear of confronting the “fear” had been the source of my predicament, and the denial had lead to even more complications. Subsequently after that I opened about my health to my family,

Just to warn you I cannot write (as you can probably tell) but these "creative rants" are just how I express myself and get my feelings out.

Neuroticism stemming from these effects has posed as my greatest challenger. Undiagnosed anxiety and depression have been constant hurdles in my path. I have worked hard to overcome my anxiety by placing myself in challenging situations. In my junior year, I decided to join the debate team. While making great improvements in my writing ability, joining debate has helped me combat anxiety by regularly placing me in the most anxiety-inducing situation imaginable: public speaking. At first, I hated it. Every time I spoke in chamber my hands would shake and I would sweat through my suit. However, as the year progressed, I gained confidence in my skills; my tone got bolder, my arguments got stronger, and I managed to make it through my speeches with dry clothes. I still struggle with anxiety, but making efforts to fight it has gone a long way in improving my condition. Along with anxiety, I also had to find coping mechanisms for my depression. Symptoms of it didn't surface until middle school. I isolated myself from friends and family and thought about how much better off people would be without me burdening them. I suffered from self-hatred that resulted in self-mutilation by cutting myself. My depression peaked my freshman year; my grades slipped as I fell deeper down a hole. I attempted suicide in the February of my freshman year. After failing, I decided I was going to turn my life around. I couldn't leave my family, causing them even more pain and loss within the family. It is now 2015 and I haven't harmed myself in over two years. My grade point average has never been higher, I have never been closer to my family, and I have never been more certain about what I want to do with my life. I've made it my goal to aid others in any ways possible; I aim to do this by pursuing a career in the medical

When you told the class about our assignment and how apart of it was going to be not using our phones for 6 hours, I felt a rush of anxiety jolt through my body as you said those words. I know that sounds terrible that I physically could feel anxiety in my body after hearing that, but it’s true, I was anxious and honestly a little annoyed. My phone is my lifeline, basically it’s like a baby to me. I have it with me for almost twenty-four hours a day and have it right beside me when I sleep.

My anxiety’s acting up again. Once again my lungs feel as so they are collapsing within me, unable to completely fill with air and my aching stomach leaves me unable to move freely. I am incapable of holding strong emotions, I lack passion, and walk through the world in a zombie-like manner. These indispositions don't seem logical to me, my life has always been too pleasant, with no tragedies, no pain, no disasters, in other words, there's nothing to be distressed about and I never understood why I felt this way. However, when I was a junior in high school, I was presented with the root of my problem, and the journey transformed me.

Anxiety is a difficult subject. There’s no doubt about it. It’s often unspoken of and all too frequently its legitimacy is diminished. For a long time, I’ve struggled with anxiety. I have never officially been diagnosed by a medical professional, mainly due to my lack of sufficient funds, however, it is an all too present force in my life. I would be lying if I were to say that talking about it didn’t make me uncomfortable or nervous whatsoever. Despite the contemporary movements to destigmatize mental illness, it remains something that is very difficult to admit or discuss. So writing this piece, honestly, makes me a bit nervous. However, I would like to share a brief glimpse into my experience because I feel that it really has shaped who I am today.

“Can I still do it” “why am I even here” “Its just a cycle I should've been used to it by now”