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How Anxiety Impacts My Everyday Life

An Asian woman is sitting by the window in a dark room with her head resting on her knees.

How Anxiety Impacts My Everyday Life

Hi everyone. I hope you are all doing good.

I’ve talked about anxiety in previous blogs, and the truth is that anxiety impacts my everyday life. So, let’s talk about it.

Anxiety doesn’t have an on/off switch

A white woman is having a panic attack on a crowded street. She is standing with her face buried in her hands.

Growing up I have always been an extrovert. I love meeting new people, going on fun adventures with friends and family and making connections with new people. However, as an extrovert I still struggle with my anxiety. Anxiety doesn’t just come into play when it comes to social gatherings, it is something I deal with all the time as a blind woman.

I travel independently and try to do things by myself before reaching out for help. I have experienced panic attacks while traveling by myself, I’ve experienced panic attacks when it came to figuring out new environments. That doesn’t happen frequently, but sometimes I get disoriented and need to backtrack, and figure out how to do something when I do get disoriented.

I’ve always picked up on people’s energy and vibe, I make sure to stay alert when out by myself. Even though I feel confident in myself, anxiety doesn’t care about that. She just pops up whenever she feels like it, and most times I can’t control how I am feeling. Have you ever heard the phrase, “There are things that are out of our control, but we can control how we react to certain situations? Well… Sometimes you can’t exactly control your reactions.

Maybe someone has told you that you are over reacting about something, or they’ve told you to calm down because you are stressing over nothing. When you have anxiety hearing things like that don’t help, it only makes it worse.

Confidence & anxiety can co-exist

A black woman with anxiety is sitting and resting her face in her hands.

I know that I can do things independently, I feel confident in my abilities and I am so proud of all of the things that I have accomplished, that doesn’t mean that I still don’t struggle with my anxiety. There isn’t many people who understand what it is like living with anxiety, and the truth is that most people will never understand it. All that I ask of people is to be kind, don’t judge just because you don’t understand.

People with anxiety need reassurance, we need comfort and to know that everything is okay. We need people to listen, and we don’t necessarily need you to give us advice, we just need you to listen. We need hugs, we need a lot of love and kindness. Anxiety isn’t just something we can turn off, we can’t just ignore it because it takes so much of our energy and time. If we have a panic attack, the feelings and thoughts don’t just clear away after a day. We over think and analyze every single thing after being in a situation that makes us feel unsafe, or unsure.

People have told me that I am to sensitive, to emotional, and it is because they don’t get it.

A few things that make us anxious people so anxious

Anxiety concept of a white woman trapped in clear plastic with arms raised against it trying to escape.

1. Making plans

I have some amazing friends who are caring and loving. However when it comes to making plans I need to know the when, where and how. When is this social gathering taking place? Where will it be? How am I going to get there? Sure, taking accessible transit is an option, but what if friends make plans tonight, how am I going to get to and from that place. Those of us with anxiety need to have all of the information, we need to map out everything.

2. Reaching out to people

This is a big one that a friend of mine and myself experience. Whether it’s a simple text to a friend that says, hey, want to go grab a coffee at Starbucks? Or hey I need help getting food, we think about the worst outcomes after sending a simple message. What if this person says no? Even though we feel this way, people aren’t like this. I have experienced it as well as my friend. So texting or calling someone can cause us to over think.

3. Learning to navigate a new place

I know that I have experienced this before. Trying to figure out how to navigate to a classroom or somewhere else can be nerve racking. Even if we know where we need to go, sometimes we get disoriented and need some help.

4. Lack of sleep

I know I mentioned things that make us anxious but I thought that it would be important to mention sleep.

I don’t have the best sleep patterns. And randomly when I least expect it, anxiety will have me up in the middle of the night, creating scenarios in my mind that aren’t real. In the middle of the night anxiety will cause me to think about something I said or did, or if I have plans the next day, how is it all going to work out? An anxious person’s mind is never quiet. There is always something we are thinking about.

Why didn’t you text that person back? Now they are mad at you. Which is obviously not true.

I’m not the anxious blind girl, I’m the girl with many other qualities who happens to be blind and who has anxiety. So yes, I wish I could just sweep things under the rug however, that isn’t an option. I have really hard days and I am not always the upbeat person that everyone knows and loves. I am the girl who needs to take naps to replenish my energy, I’m the girl who needs reassurance on days when I don’t feel so sure about something, I need hugs from friends and family and I need kindness.

Thanks for reading😊

By Gabby Mendonca

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About The Author

An evening outdoor glamour shot of Gabby standing with her hand on her hip in a black gown. Her long dark loosely curled tresses are flowing over her right shoulder and down her back.
Gabby Mendonca

Gabby is a recent college graduate. She studied communications in digital media. When she isn’t busy with school, Gabby enjoys filming videos for her YouTube. She is very passionate about the performing arts, music, and acting. Gabby is also very passionate about advocacy and inclusion.

Image Descriptions:
  • An Asian woman is sitting by the window in a dark room with her head resting on her knees.
  • A white woman is having a panic attack on a crowded street. She is standing with her face buried in her hands.
  • A black woman with anxiety is sitting and resting her face in her hands.
  • Anxiety concept of a white woman trapped in clear plastic with arms raised against it trying to escape.
  • The author’s photo is an evening outdoor glamour shot of Gabby standing with her hand on her hip in a black gown. Her long dark loosely curled tresses are flowing over her right shoulder and down her back.
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