12 Pictures That Show the Different Ways Anxiety Manifests
You may be familiar with how difficult it can be to explain what anxiety is actually like.
Sometimes words just can’t accurately portray the surprising ways anxiety emerges, the thoughts and feelings it provokes and the seemingly irrational actions it makes you do.
Sometimes words just aren’t enough.
So if you’ve found it difficult to explain your struggle with anxiety, or understand someone else’s struggle with anxiety, these photos showing the different ways anxiety affects people might help.
1. The “Butterflies” in Your Stomach
Photo artist Anya Anti knows what it’s like when “anxiety butterflies” invade your stomach, and brought it to life in a surreal self-portrait. “Opening” up her stomach, she reveals what you can’t see from the outside — a relatable concept for people who have anxiety, but appear to look “just fine.”
2. The Isolation of Being Overwhelmed
Anxiety can be overwhelming, and when you’re overwhelmed, it can be hard to focus on anything but your anxiety. So if you feel like you want to shrink into shadows, like the photo featured above, you’re not alone.
3. When the World Feels Like “Too Much”
Savvy W. told The Mighty, “This is what anxiety feels like for me. Too much happening, overwhelming, so much that I can’t see straight. Everything is breaking around me until I eventually fall into an attack. I’m afraid of the negative or judgmental comments people may make. You’re always so happy, how could you have anxiety? [and] You always seem fine, are ones I get quite a lot.”
4. Anxiety That’s “Disguised”
Instagram user and blogger T.J. Jourian said in his post, “That look when you’re slowly emerging from a two day anxiety attack masquerading as irrational anger and sadness.”
5. The Aftermath of a Panic Attack
Tia D. told The Mighty, “This is a picture of me right after I had a panic attack. I never share things like this on Facebook as I feel friends might think I’m doing it for attention and [worry] they won’t believe this is an actual illness. Whenever someone challenges the fact I have anxiety, it just makes the anxiety even worse so I never post pictures like this to avoid the chance of this happening. Most of my friends don’t even know I have anxiety as I have a fear of people not taking it seriously.”
6. “Flare Ups” That Hide Behind a Smile
Kalyn L. told The Mighty,“I have chronic hives but I mainly get flair ups when I’m anxious, which happens to be most of the time I’m out in public. Normally I wear high shirts to avoid people seeing them. I took this picture and even though the hives aren’t the main focus of this picture it’s all I can see.”
7. When Anxiety Fuels Compulsive Behaviors
Eric K. told The Mighty, “I lost it a few weeks ago and it has never been this bad. Usually when I start shaking and my head goes ‘crazy’ I bite my hand hard while taking deep breaths. This time it didn’t work, I kept biting and biting. This was during work… I took this picture just because I never been that bad. I won’t post it because I don’t want questions. I don’t like the robot responses people give because they don’t understand. Sadly the only person who calmed the noise has left so the noise since doubled.”
8. When Nail Biting and Skin Picking Become a Coping Mechanism
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Anxiety can sometimes lead to nail biting, skin picking, excessively lip biting or chewing and other body-focused repetitive behaviors. It can often start as a simple coping mechanism to distract your mind from anxious thoughts, but soon it becomes habit. So if you want to know how anxious some people are, just check their hands.
9. When Anxiety Feels Like It’s Pulling You Under
Chris C. told The Mighty, “Someone once asked me what it was like dealing with anxiety and depression and if I could explain it. I decided to draw this picture to use as a tool to better explain myself. I said depression and anxiety is like being in the middle of the ocean with no boats in sight, floating with only your nose above the water with a 50 pound dog named anxiety sitting on your chest and a giant hand named depression pulling you under at the same time [when] all you want is to breathe.”
10. When Anxiety Makes It Hard to Breathe
Makeup artist Yasaman Gheidi, who started the #InsideOutChallenge, said in an Instagram post, “I often times feel as if a black hand is rising up through my chest and clutching my throat and chest, trying to pull me into an abyss of chaos. I feel like my brain can’t function anymore as it goes into overdrive. I can’t think clearly and feel like I don’t understand what’s happening around me. Dealing with anxiety on a daily basis is also quite exhausting which is why I added the shadow under my eyes.”
11. When Anxiety Makes It Almost Impossible to Get Out of Bed
Lena M. told The Mighty, “When I took this photo I was supposed to be at work already. I really wished I was, but anxiety didn’t let me leave my bed. I was laying like this for hours trying to convince myself it’s safe to go, but I physically couldn’t leave. I took the photo because I felt like I had to prove my feelings were real even though no one asked for proof. It’s a suffocating feeling you can’t describe. I never posted it because I’d be afraid people would think I did it for attention. I just wish people would understand what it’s like.”
12. When Anxiety Looks Like Being “Put Together”
when your anxiety is worse than it’s been in years but no one can tell bc your makeup is that good ???????????? pic.twitter.com/0A5iOCYp5s
— Lane Moore (@hellolanemoore) January 10, 2018
Comedian Lane Moore shared a picture on her Twitter, saying, “When your anxiety is worse than it’s been in years but no one can tell bc your makeup is that good.”
What does your anxiety look like?
Hi wonderful humans! My name is Haley -- dog mom, creator, storyteller and advocate. I joined The Mighty because I believe we heal and support one another by sharing our beautiful but sometimes difficult stories. Like many of you, I'm in the process of learning to have compassion for both the darkness and light that lies within me. I'm so glad you and I are here, because we are #MightyTogether.
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