Dear Anxiety, I am back! Did you miss me?! So, recently in writing these letters to you, I have found out that more of my friends suffer because of you than I previously knew. I heard someone say to me, "but 'So-and-So' doesn't look like he has it." The thing is, we don't know who is effected by you and who is not effected by you; at this rate, we will never know. Why would we? It's not like when you first meet someone, they come up to you and say, "Hi my name is _____ and I have anxiety" or that they have labels that say so on their shirt. No, it does not work like that. My point is, you don't have a specific type of person that you effect. You can pick anyone, at anytime, anywhere. Some people never realize that they know someone who is taunted by you. My question is why don't people talk about it? Why keep it a secret? Would it matter to a real friend that someone has anxiety? Would their friends or family love them less because of YOU? No! Would their friends or family not want to spend time with them because of YOU? If so, that just means that people that don't know what you are, are scared of you. They may judge the people that are effected by you, and that is not right. People should never judge a book by its cover, ever. People need to learn more about you. They need to talk to those that have to deal with you on a daily basis to truly understand what you do, how you act. Only then will they truly understand and not be so judgemental and scared of what you are. Here are 3 things that I think people can (and should) do to better understand you: 1. Educate themselves. 2. Be open minded. 3. Listen.
Sincerely, A girl who cares
