Understanding Anxiety: When Worry Feels Too Big

😰 What Does Anxiety Feel Like?

Anxiety doesn’t always look like panic. Sometimes it looks like being on edge, exhausted, or frozen in place. It’s your brain and body trying to protect you — even when the danger isn’t real.

Common signs of anxiety include:

• Feeling restless, jittery, or like something bad is about to happen

• Trouble sleeping or staying asleep

• Racing thoughts or difficulty concentrating

• Tight chest, fast heartbeat, or shortness of breath

• Digestive issues or nausea

• Avoiding certain places, people, or activities

• Feeling irritable, jumpy, or like you can’t relax

Anxiety is your nervous system doing its job — but sometimes it gets stuck in overdrive.

⚠️ When Anxiety Becomes More Than Stress

Everyone experiences anxiety differently. But if it starts interfering with your relationships, your work, or your ability to take care of yourself, it might be time to slow down and check in.

Here are some signs anxiety might need more support:

• You’re avoiding everyday tasks or places because of fear

• Your body constantly feels tense or exhausted

• Worry keeps you up at night, every night

• You feel stuck in a loop of “what if” thoughts that don’t stop

• You’re using substances or other numbing strategies just to get through

If any of this sounds familiar — know that you’re not alone. And there are tools that can help.

🌬️ What Helps in the Moment?

Anxiety tells you something bad is going to happen — right now. So the best way to respond is to remind your body and brain that you are safe in this moment.

Try:

• Box breathing: Inhale for 4, hold for 4, exhale for 4, hold for 4 — repeat

• Name 5 things you see, 4 you can touch, 3 you hear, 2 you smell, 1 you taste

• Move your body — shake your hands, stretch, walk around the room

• Hold something cold or textured — a stone, a metal object, a damp washcloth

• Say to yourself: “This feeling is hard, but it will pass. I am safe enough right now.”

Not everything will work for everyone — the point is to try gently, not perfectly.

🧠 Longer-Term Tools That Can Help

Anxiety is manageable — and healing is possible. If it’s starting to take over your day-to-day, consider:

• Talking to a therapist who can help you understand your patterns and build coping strategies

• Using apps or tools that track your mood or help with mindfulness

• Finding support groups or safe communities where you can talk about what you’re feeling

• Exploring how trauma, neurodivergence, or systemic stress (like racism or transphobia) may be part of the picture — and building tools that honor those realities

🤝 What to Say if Someone You Love Is Struggling

You don’t need to fix them. You just need to be a calm, present witness.

Try:

• “It sounds like your brain is really loud right now. I’m here.”

• “You don’t have to go through this alone.”

• “Do you want help grounding, or just someone to sit with you?”

Avoid:

• “Just calm down”

• “There’s nothing to worry about”

• “You’re overreacting”

Anxiety doesn’t respond to logic — it responds to safety.

💛 You Deserve Support

Anxiety doesn’t mean you’re broken, weak, or failing. It means your body is trying to protect you — maybe from things that were truly hard in the past. You can unlearn fear. You can build safety. You can feel differently.

This takes time. And you don’t have to do it alone.