I remember being 6 and very afraid of what people would think of me. I think we all have thought this to ourselves. "Will they like me?", "Am I good enough?", "I hope I don't say something stupid to offend them". But the fear was overwhelming. I quickly realised if I was a person people liked, I wouldn't have to worry. Even if this person wasn't the real me, it would at least hold back the huge fear. Because it was constantly there, it never really went away.
It only got worse over the years. I was scared to trust people, to talk to people. Even the people I had known for years became strange and scary. Which compared to me as a young child, a very bubbly and social butterfly, was even more scary because I could look back and see that I once was at a point where people was a good thing.
But now it's one of my biggest fears. Even family birthdays take so much of my energy. I rehearse in my head 7 days before what can happen, what I should say if I'm asked different things, what I will do if I'm not in the best mood, how much or little I should smile, how I can escape if it gets too much, how I can hide the fact that people talking to me and the loud noises scare the living crap out of me even though I've known these people since I was born.
And it's hard to express that fear. Because nothing describes it well enough. It's like drowning and seeing the surface but not being able to reach it. It's like falling into a deep hole and never seeing the end. It's like screaming but without anyone hearing it. It's like being trapped but you have the key to get out, you just don't know how to use it.
I cannot do a lot of things. I cannot go pick up a pint of milk on my own, I can't walk my dog in different areas, I cannot pick up the phone or sometimes even write an email. Some days if people talk to me on Facebook I get so overwhelmed I just log off. Because I didn't plan it, I didn't see it coming. It was too unexpected. And it's horrible, because it's often people I'm dying to ask how are. But I push myself away because I don't want to burden them.
It's always been a matter of bothering people. Being in the way. I'm constantly aware of everything around me because I don't want to be in the way. And it's so draining. It's so fucking tiring because in reality, no one could give a shit about where I stand, they can just ask me to move if it did bother them. But I'm trying to think ahead. Just like I'm counting my cash 10 times before even standing in the queue and then counting further 10 times in case I got it wrong before. Adding it all up in my very messy head and being wrong would ruin my entire day.
And I'm constantly tired. Some days it even physically hurts. Because being so aware of everything, NEEDING to be aware of everything, is very demanding. I need to know things a couple of days in advance, because else I get panic attacks because I don't feel prepared. I get stressed easily, I cry a lot and my eyes are always red and my under eyes more blue than the sky. My arms get achy from the nervous picking I tend to do because it's the only thing that calms me down, picking and scratching my arm when it's all too much.
Some days are okay. Some days I just wake up feeling tired. A little confused too, but mostly tired. I don't even bother getting dressed, I just lay in my bed and stare. Embrace the peace in my head. But then I remember the dishwasher needs emptying, there's clothes in the washing room that's not folded - and it's not even mine - and my desk looks dirty and the frames look a bit too tilted to the left and what if someone calls me, should I answer it or should I do as I always do, turn it off and hide it because it's always a number I don't know and it makes me very uncomfortable.
I'm always uncomfortable. It's what anxiety does.
- I wrote this because lately it's hasn't been easy to control things. I don't like losing control and I don't like not being the one making decisions about my life. And it makes me sleep very poorly which triggers anxiety even more. I'm not writing things to make you feel bad for me. I don't care for being pitied. But if you feel the same, it'll be okay. Some days are worse than others, but you'll be okay. I was okay for a while, but suddenly things come up and the hell burns again. But it'll pass. Hang in there, hang in there with me. We can do this.
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