When I was diagnosed with anxiety at 19, it was taboo and I never spoke about it to anybody exceptfor my parents. Over the years, I became more comfortable talking about it with very close friends. That was really the only thing about myself that I kept to myself—I’m an open book, otherwise. It always surprises people when they hear that I have anxiety and that, inside, I’m a very nervous person. Whenever I open up to somebody, they say to me, ‘you seem like the most laid-back, easygoing person, always laughing, always having a funny story to tell, the life of the party.

“When I was diagnosed with anxiety at 19, it was taboo and I never spoke about it to anybody exceptfor my parents. Over the years, I became more comfortable talking about it with very close friends. That was really the only thing about myself that I kept to myself—I’m an open book, otherwise. It always surprises people when they hear that I have anxiety and that, inside, I’m a very nervous person. Whenever I open up to somebody, they say to me, ‘you seem like the most laid-back, easygoing person, always laughing, always having a funny story to tell, the life of the party.’

In the past while, I decided that I want to be open and honest with myself and others. How are people going to appreciate me as a person if I’m not completely honest? I drew from another blogger’s strength and decided to open up and write about the topic on my blog. This was the first time I was actually telling my story, typing away, and I felt fine with it. I just think it was a part of me accepting who I am. It was me telling myself, ‘it’s okay. Just like my hair is brown and my eyes are blue, this is who I am.’

After I wrote it, I sat on it for a while. Then it was the last day of mental health awareness month at eight o’clock at night, and I said to my husband, ‘this is it. I need to post it.’ I did not get a single negative response. If anything, I felt that much more connected to my community and that much more connected to the people in my life.”

Category: People