Why I Started Writing About My Anxiety Disorder
Photo of rocky beach in Queensland, Australia, where the author is from. Photo credit
I wanted to help others (and myself).
I struggled with anxiety my whole life and didn’t even know it. I thought that everyday life was meant to be this hard and that I needed to keep pushing through like everyone else. Last year, I was diagnosed with Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD). It changed everything.
I now understand why I worried about every little thing all the time. Why I would have anxiety attacks over seemingly nothing. Why my body was exhibiting strange and difficult symptoms that slowly beat me down each and every single day.
Once I was able to understand GAD, I began to explain to friends and family why I was the way that I was. Almost everyone was shocked as I had hidden it well beneath an extroverted personality and confident manner.
When I tried to find a support forum or a site that I could relate to and help me with GAD, I came up with practically nothing (except for Beautiful Voyager). Anxiety awareness seemed to be buried beneath many other serious mental disorders and issues. I think this is due to the stigma that people with anxiety were merely irrationally dramatic worriers. What they don’t know is it’s actually a physical response to dangers that is seen everywhere by our mind and body. We cannot control it.
This is the reason why I decided to start my blog. Firstly, I wanted to challenge this stigma and educate everyone on what anxiety disorders really are. Secondly, I wanted to share my experiences in the hopes that it can help people. And thirdly, I wanted to create a community of informed individuals to share awareness and help those suffering in silence.
Whether you are struggling yourself, or perhaps you have a friend or family member with this disorder, I can share with you my experiences and knowledge to help you through this as best as I can.
You are not alone.
Love always, Anxious Butterfly
Nicole lives on the sunny Gold Coast in Queensland Australia. She is the creator of Anxious Butterfly, where she share her life story and embarrassing escapades to raise awareness about anxiety disorders.