30 Thoughts of an Anxious Person During a Zoom Call
If you live with anxiety, you know that your symptoms follow you everywhere. But with the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic, anxious people all over the world have found a brand-new place for their anxiety to manifest: Zoom meetings. If you’ve used the popular video-chatting platform in work settings, you’ll probably recognize yourself in these 30 thoughts that every anxious person has during a Zoom call, but don’t worry, you will get through your Zoom meetings!
1. What if this meeting ID doesn’t actually let me into the meeting? I’ll miss everything!
2. OK, I’m in. But there will be so many people in this meeting — I hope I make a good impression!
3. Is my mic on? What if it’s on too loud? What if it’s too quiet?
4. Do I really have to turn my video on? I’d rather not…
5. Oh, no! My hair is a mess, I look tired, and it’s so obvious that I forgot to iron this shirt!
6. My boss wants to start with an icebreaker? What do I say, what do I say…
7. What if everyone thinks my answer was pathetic? No one else likes pistachio ice cream!
8. What did my co-worker just say? I was in the middle of a panic attack…
9. Oh, my boss just asked me a question. Now I have to talk. Great.
10. If I turn my camera back off, will they forget I’m part of this meeting? I sure hope so…
11. I love my cat, but why did she pick right now to jump in front of my camera?
12. Miss Whiskers, you’re giving my entire workplace a great view of your tail. Now stop before I get written up!
13. Wait, can I actually get in trouble for how my cat behaves in my office? Oh, no, I probably can… I’m so fired.
14. My boss just said she likes seeing our pets, but is she just saying that to make me feel better?
15. Why have my children decided to fight over a board game while I’m reviewing my portfolio with my boss? My heart is racing…
16. Mute, mute, mute!
17. Kiddos, please settle down! If you show the whole office your favorite teddy bear during this very important meeting, I could get fired!
18. Aaaaaand… my kids are shouting into the camera. I wonder if my boss thinks I never discipline them…
19. She just said, “Don’t worry about it. I know how kids can be.” That’s probably code for “Your children are the worst-behaved I’ve ever seen!”
20. I can barely breathe… no, anxiety, not again!
21. What grounding exercises can I do without anyone seeing me?
22. I really need to go to the bathroom, but if I move, the whole office will see that I’m wearing Christmas pajamas… in July.
23. Hold it, hold it, hold it!
24. At least I no longer have to use the restrooms at work. Just looking at those toilet seats makes me anxious about germs…
25. Speaking of germs, I’m scared to know how many more coronavirus cases we have today…
26. I’ve been holed up in this house for four months and always wear a mask, but I’m still definitely going to catch COVID-19.
27. When will this meeting be over? Too much noise, too much talking, too much social interaction!
28. Oh, no, my boss is running over time. What if this meeting never ends? What if I’m stuck here forever?
29. Please, please hurry up! I’ve been anxious for the past two hours, and I really need to go to the bathroom!
30. The meeting just ended, thank goodness! Now how do I get rid of my anxiety?
Can you relate?
Getty image via Ponomariova_Maria
Kelly Douglas is the Community Leader for The Mighty’s Recovery Warriors community. She graduated from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo in 2016 with a B.S. in Psychology and a minor in Law and Society and is excited to share her knowledge with others in recovery. Kelly is passionate about sharing her experiences with others through writing and is the also the Senior Editor for Unwritten, an online magazine dedicated to millennial life. Her work has also been featured on Her Campus, HelloGiggles, POPSUGAR, Project Wednesday, HerStory, Finding Bohemia, Thought Catalog, YourTango, Shape, ScreenRant, MSN and Yahoo!, as well as in the “Written By…” anthology. When she is not writing, editing, or supporting fellow Mighties in recovery, Kelly enjoys listening to music, watching true crime shows, and cuddling all the cats. Follow her on Instagram @kellychristine333 or on Twitter @kellywrites333.
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