30 Women Get Real About What It's Like to Live With Anxiety—And How They Cope

Health

19."I convince myself of ridiculous things based on ambiguous situations. My coworker will say something innocent and I'll immediately think that means she hates me. I tell myself that nobody wants me around, that I am failing at what they've asked me to do. But a week later, when I'm more stable and I'm also receiving high praises from work, I realize that all of those things were entirely made up. Which leads me to further question my own reality."—Katherine H., 22, Edmonds, WA

20."My anxiety is all about fear. Sometimes it's rational fear that comes because of an unwelcome change. Sometimes it's an irrational fear, like when I felt like I was going to throw up on my way to a friend's house for game night. Either way, the anxiety is very real. Nothing will ever be right again. My world is crashing down. I will never be able to be enough or do enough. All of these thoughts that consume me are based on fear. For me, the best way to cope is to fight that fear when I am in between anxiety attacks. I build up my faith, I build up my health, and I avoid things that instill fear and insecurities in me like the news, social media, and even certain people. I try to keep busy, but not too busy. I rely on prayer and spiritual study. Then I take it one day at a time knowing that there is a bottle of Xanax in my nightstand just in case."—Carrie S., 39, Denver, CO

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