People Are Sharing What Their Anxiety Feels Like in Viral Twitter Thread
Anxiety can be so creative. One minute you’re having the time of your life, and the next, anxiety is whispering in your ear, suggesting you’re saying all the wrong things. It plants doubts and fears in your mind, a persistent little voice in your head analyzing every tiny move you make. It crops up around long-forgotten triggers, often in the middle of the night or sometimes for seemingly no reason at all. Anxiety can also be the culprit behind sweaty palms, quick breathing and heart palpitations — it’s both a mental and physical experience for many people.
To capture the complexity and far-reaching impact of anxiety, the Twitter support community Mental Health Notes launched the hashtag, #AnxietyFeelsLike, sharing a short list of the many ways people experience anxiety. The account encouraged others to share their experiences with anxiety, and the hashtag quickly went viral. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, about 18% of people in the U.S. experience anxiety, and it’s the most common mental illness.
https://twitter.com/depressionnote/status/1202711370749362176?s=20
The relatable responses to the #AnxietyFeelsLike hashtag help capture just how insidious anxiety can be and the many ways it shows up in our lives. Here’s what people shared on Twitter. How many of these experiences can you relate to?
•feeling like you can be easily replaced by the someone who is better than you
• thinking that everyday you’re being judge
•don’t have appetite
• insomnia
•you feeling empty
• feeling like you are toxic to the others#AnxietyFeelsLike https://t.co/qDu0fiZxmQ— russele (@Maessissippi) December 6, 2019
The best way I can describe what #AnxietyFeelsLike is that it’s like you’re drowning but it doesn’t actually kill you
— Jack (@J4CKMULL) December 6, 2019
Me vs the memories of every bad and awkward thing I’ve ever done #AnxietyFeelsLike pic.twitter.com/lvxb2wecoP
— WASH YOUR HANDS ???? XOTWOD (@airywoods) December 5, 2019
A little two panel comic for what #AnxietyFeelsLike pic.twitter.com/Ry9Ou9aUOs
— Bree Lundberg ???? (@BreeLundberg) December 6, 2019
If we’re supposed to meet up and you’re more than 7 minutes late, I’m basically convinced you are dead.
This is what #AnxietyFeelsLike. pic.twitter.com/I9pJ4Xb03w— Julie #FlattenTheCurve Cohen (@FilmmakerJulie) December 6, 2019
– tension in my lungs
– hands shaking
– sometimes overtalking, sometimes shutting down
– overthinking to the point of exhaustion
– fear/panic bubbling up in my chest
– nerves when doing the simplest of things, like leaving the houseNo one is alone ???? https://t.co/44uSiWqXzC
— Morgan (@Morgan_NFfan) December 6, 2019
#AnxietyFeelsLike Complete self sabotage. Constantly over analyzing nearly every aspect of your life and feeling like you’re always being judged. Ruining relationships and great opportunities for success as a result.
— Mer ✨ (@marikuroros) December 5, 2019
#AnxietyFeelsLike I’m about to pass out. I feel like I’m physically sinking, that the world around me is warped and spinning. Lights all become to bright for my eyes and I can’t focus on what anyone is saying. I remind myself to breath but question if the air is even safe. https://t.co/nExenmVAQA
— Liz Katz (@LizKatzOfficial) December 6, 2019
#AnxietyFeelsLike this ???? pic.twitter.com/HW5Q0tqCs0
— ????????????????Sunday Girl???????????????? (@SundayGirl74) December 6, 2019
#anxietyfeelslike you are waiting for blood test results about whether you are going to die all day long and relief only comes when/if you eventually collapse at night from exhaustion. Then you wake up and do it all over again the next day for weeks or months.
— Molly Knight (@molly_knight) December 6, 2019
#AnxietyFeelsLike writing and deleting this six times before finally posting it, because a little voice tells me it is stupid/bad and that I am stupid/bad. Can’t get through almost any task without that little voice. Was finally diagnosed 5 yrs ago and still working on managing. https://t.co/YDicR5ycCk
— Sara Schaefer (@saraschaefer1) December 6, 2019
Like you’re stuck in a time loop replaying mistakes, thinking about the mistakes you’re currently making and mulling over the ones you have not yet made. #AnxietyFeelsLike
— Christian (@severflow) December 5, 2019
#AnxietyFeelsLike uncertainty, fear, discomfort, crawling inside your own skin, sick, panic, sweating, cold, hot, needing to run away, an endless wish to not be alive cancelled out by a terror of not being alive, limbo, hell inside your own head.
— HappyToast ★ (@IamHappyToast) December 6, 2019
#AnxietyFeelsLike You’re the only one experiencing your current trauma. That no one REALLY understands what you’re going through & that there’s no way to pull yourself out from this particular pain prison. pic.twitter.com/uA8Wj9siT9
— tara strong (@tarastrong) December 6, 2019
#AnxietyFeelsLike racing thoughts, fear of talking to people, inability to focus without making lists, wrinkles deepening everyday, sleeping too late and waking up with palpitations, self-doubt, being one’s harshest critic, ruminating and magnifying, worry, worry, worry
— Eleanor Strata (@EleanorStrata) December 6, 2019
#AnxietyFeelsLike 100 thoughts per second. A very loud internal dialogue.
Do I look okay? Can they see me? Relax. Say something. Be quiet. Hurry up. Wait. You’re making a fool of yourself. Don’t worry. You’re fine. Be present. Did I fuck up? Do they know I fucked up? Can I fix –
— ???????????????????????????????? ???????????????? (F²) ???? (@fonzfranc) December 6, 2019
https://twitter.com/amynthejets/status/1202751823519588353?s=20
#AnxietyFeelsLike you’ve got this really annoying person in your life who constantly follows you round harassing you by telling you that you’re shit at life. It’s basically like having a bully inside your head who’ll make you doubt yourself & have you think that you’re worthless. pic.twitter.com/Acj9xPjMYp
— Shannon ???????????? (@NerdyGirlShay) December 6, 2019
#AnxietyFeelsLike, for me, always doubting yourself, lack of focus on everyday stuff, but hyperfocus on everything that could be or go wrong, health or otherwise. It feels alone and overwhelming, all-consuming and isolating. You don’t ‘just breathe’. #MentalHealthAwareness pic.twitter.com/9DAD4Ly5sq
— Dr Gaby Wolferink (@drgabywolferink) December 6, 2019
#AnxietyFeelsLike being scared about every little thing. Over thinking every single aspect of everything. Constantly feeling uneasy and alone a lot of the time when it might not be the case
— EBEN (@EbenOfficial) December 6, 2019
#AnxietyFeelsLike this ???? pic.twitter.com/mMQzcojibB
— Chad Anderson (@1legchad) December 6, 2019
#AnxietyFeelsLike waking up gasping for air because you involuntarily stopped breathing. https://t.co/AxIfxZ5sOF
— Dawn Zulueta (@DawnZpost) December 6, 2019
an old comic for #AnxietyFeelsLike pic.twitter.com/ixq9LMZVYF
— chuck ???????? (@charlubby) December 6, 2019
#anxietyfeelslike
A heart attack… It sometimes feels like a full on, “I’m about to die! I need to get help” heart attack that people will mock.It feels like isolation, guilt and loneliness.
It feels like you are so far from shore that the best option is to drown.
— ???????????????????????????? ???????????????????????? (@captainboones) December 6, 2019
#AnxietyFeelsLike everything is heightened.
Thoughts move faster.
Every worry feels a reality.
Your brain is your worst enemy.
And it’s fucking vile.— Rachel Hawkins (@ourrachblogs) December 6, 2019
https://twitter.com/jodieamber93/status/1202713949831073794?s=20
What does your #AnxietyFeelLike? Share with us below in the comments.
Renée Fabian was the features editor at The Mighty. She has also written for The Washington Post, VICE, Healthline, Talkspace, The Fix, The Establishment, The Culture Trip, and GRAMMY.com, among others. Renée was named a 2019 AHCJ Comparative Effectiveness Research fellow, a 2020 USC Center for Health Journalism California fellow, and holds a master's degree in journalism from the University of Southern California and a master's degree in psychology from Antioch University Los Angeles. You can follow her on Twitter @ryfabian.
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