ana
14-01-17, 20:23
I honestly don't know if anyone will find my post of any interest as I can't imagine how many of you here have been open and honest with people about your condition, and how many of you have, just like me, feared the social stigma, people seeing or treating you differently if you were to tell them you suffer with anxiety and panic attacks. I suppose this is aimed at those who have been hiding and have not told that many people the truth about their condition.
After 16 years of suffering in silence, without ever opening up to any of my relatives (parents excluded) friends, teachers, colleagues, a few months ago, I finally decided to end the silence. Telling a close friend of mine was the single most difficult conversation I had ever had in my entire life. I'm normally chatty and rarely tongue-tied, but I was sweating, shaking, struggling to find the right words to express myself to my friend, to say out loud how nightmarish, awful this decade + has been for me.
However, it was the best thing I'd ever done, telling my friend. She was understanding and supportive, and this encouraged me to open up to more of my friends. So far, 5 people know about my anxiety and I've got nothing but care and support from those people.
To anyone who's in two minds whether or not to tell your friends/family members/partner about what you are going through, I'd say: go for it. You gain nothing from silence, but additional stress as you're having to lie and find excuses as to why you can't do things and go places. If the people you tell can't accept you for it, then they're not worth your time. Be brave and open - you can only benefit from it. :)
After 16 years of suffering in silence, without ever opening up to any of my relatives (parents excluded) friends, teachers, colleagues, a few months ago, I finally decided to end the silence. Telling a close friend of mine was the single most difficult conversation I had ever had in my entire life. I'm normally chatty and rarely tongue-tied, but I was sweating, shaking, struggling to find the right words to express myself to my friend, to say out loud how nightmarish, awful this decade + has been for me.
However, it was the best thing I'd ever done, telling my friend. She was understanding and supportive, and this encouraged me to open up to more of my friends. So far, 5 people know about my anxiety and I've got nothing but care and support from those people.
To anyone who's in two minds whether or not to tell your friends/family members/partner about what you are going through, I'd say: go for it. You gain nothing from silence, but additional stress as you're having to lie and find excuses as to why you can't do things and go places. If the people you tell can't accept you for it, then they're not worth your time. Be brave and open - you can only benefit from it. :)