When it comes to physical ailments, the signs are quite clear and recognizable. But mental illnesses have much more subtle signs. A while back, people on Twitter got together and listed out what anxiety feels like and its symptoms – insomnia, loss of appetite, shortness of breath, worrying about the future, nausea etc. And now, they are talking the discourse forward by explaining triggers and behaviours that point towards anxiety.
Tell me you have anxiety issues without telling me you have anxiety issues
— dhoklahomie (@dumplinghoee) February 4, 2021
I’ll go first : every time something bothers me or i know will bother me i need to sit in my bed w my weighted blanket around me and start crying while doing nothing. Or i sit in my bathtub and start crying
— dhoklahomie (@dumplinghoee) February 4, 2021
Yesterday i cried for 15 mins because my swim lap times were extremely high and i somehow turned it into a very derailed thought process about how i suck at everything. Fun times.
— dhoklahomie (@dumplinghoee) February 4, 2021
constant. Jumpy. Leg.
— dhoklahomie (@dumplinghoee) February 4, 2021
I also associate a few ppl who induce said anxiety attacks in me because the moment they text/call i stop functioning. I literally stop existing. I crawl into my bed and cut myself off mentally and physically from the world. No anchors nothing.
— dhoklahomie (@dumplinghoee) February 4, 2021
Tea or coffee 😭 i love both so much but the day i drink it is the day i 100% cry because i get so overwhelmed w the tiniest of things. One shot of espresso and it’s tears town.
— dhoklahomie (@dumplinghoee) February 4, 2021
A lot of people mentioned how phone calls can get terrifying or require rehearsals and practice.
everytime I get a phone call from anyone but my mom or like 2 friends I just can’t deal it’s terrifying
— beedi (@untruequeen) February 4, 2021
I havent picked up a call for 6 months now. And havent replied to like 20 texts.
I always wait for people to end the call and then i text them. And sometimes i dont even text them. Then they call my brother. And before my brother comes to me. I lock my door and pretend to sleep.— Anshul~kidult⁷ (@imjellybhatt) February 4, 2021
does rehearsing a phone call before the actual phone call count
— devatha ||സഖാവ് റിഹാന stan a/c (@porotta_beef) February 4, 2021
Movies and music aren’t the same.
I google the end of movies as soon as the suspense starts to build
— Kanupriya (@kanupriiya) February 4, 2021
music can’t make me feel something, even if that something is grief or despair like it’s just this unexplainable restlessness, and at that point I fucking hate it when I am not able to connect with music, it feels incorrect in million different ways and yet I am just not able to
— wooo (@mftrainwreck07) February 4, 2021
Being social and interacting with people is tough.
i literally stop functioning when I’m with people I’m not comfortable with (i.e. my fam) and sometimes feel out of breath or unable to articulate sentences. If I had to spend an entire day with the said people I’d stay up all night by myself to compensate for that loss of time
— veeeeeeeee~ (@myindecisiveass) February 4, 2021
everytime i interact with more than 2 people at once i need to rest for 2 hours straight for my face to stop twitching, also before any event i always have a friend to hold my hands or put some kind of physical pressure on me bec i shake too much https://t.co/Ud3UW6J8O1
— vico traumatic (@lunarmintt) February 4, 2021
Can't maintain eye contact when I am talking to someone
Phone calls really scare me https://t.co/Q5r5Qqe67l— shayonee 🌼☘️ (@Shayoneespeaks) February 4, 2021
People also explained triggers, urges and fears they feel and what makes them anxious.
my bed just feels disgusting? I feel every tiniest bit of dirt and it makes me feel disgusting, I compulsively keep cleaning it but no matter how much I clean it I feel dirty, like somehow dirt is within me and not on the bed
— wooo (@mftrainwreck07) February 4, 2021
I sometimes have high expectations for things (best case scinario) & when they don’t work out as well, I feel stupid & question why I put myself out there in the first place.
— Kristina Arntz 🎃👩🦯 (@KristinaArntz_) February 5, 2021
my leg never rests it’s literally always on vibrate mode
— beedi (@untruequeen) February 4, 2021
even when there’s nothing that is bothering me actively, i start thinking about something and fall in a rabbit hole and get restless and have to get away from everyone
— saniflower (@_oopsiedaisies) February 4, 2021
I typed what all things I do ……then backspaced it thinking I am giving out too much
— Jai Yadav 🇮🇳 (@YadavJai03) February 4, 2021
The urge to keep things in an order. I even organize the leftover food on my plate 😞
— what ra problem (@tejukaadu) February 4, 2021
We can’t imagine how tough it must have been for everyone to share these fears but reading this important thread is definitely going to make us more aware and empathetic towards people with anxiety.