Are you ok?

I don’t know.

What are you feeling?

I don’t know.

Are you ok?

I DON”T KNOW!

How are you feeling?

Empty.

What can I do to help?

Nothing. I don’t know. Leave me along. Don’t leave me alone.

It is very possible that every person who reads this knows someone with an anxiety disorder. Either Generalized Anxiety, Panic Attacks, or Social Anxiety.

It is normal to have a level of anxiety in our lives. Taking a test, a new job interview, meeting someone new. These are all examples of normal anxieties. A person with an anxiety disorder will not be able to come down from their anxiety quickly, and it might possibly increase in intensity.

A person with a Panic Disorder will have a sudden all pervasive feeling of fear. They will feel that they are totally out of control, and can feel that the feeling with never go away.

A person with Social Anxiety will avoid people. People with Social Anxiety avoid places were there are groups of people, making it hard to make or to keep friends.

Anxiety disorders can start at any time. Some risk factors would be: shyness in childhood, having few economic resources, being divorced or widowed, exposure to stressful events in childhood or adulthood.

Sound like anything that you can relate to? This is a stressful world we live in. Change is the name of the game any more. Jobs disappear, relationships disappear, friends come and go. Is it no wonder that we have anxiety in our lives?

So what can we do for our friends and family?

Be there for them. Let them know that they can talk to you at any time without judgement about what is going on with them.

Spend time with them one on one. Being with someone they trust takes their mind off of their anxiety.

Be forgiving. If they lash out at you, let them know that you forgive them and are not going to leave.

DO NOT tell them to “just breathe through it.” That will probably get you smacked.

Be yourself around them. A person with an anxiety disorder needs to you to be you.

So.

How are you feeling?