10 Little Reminders When You Feel Like You’re Losing Your Battle With Anxiety

1. You are not and will never be alone.

Maybe your family is far away. Maybe you’re living on your own. Maybe you truly do feel like no one is with you and no one hears you. You’re wrong. I’m here. I’m listening.

2. Your life isn’t nearly as bad as your anxiety is.

Your anxiety has a nasty habit of giving you a heightened sense of panic. It’s just a bad few minutes. Find an empty room, a bathroom stall, a closet–it doesn’t have to be pretty. Just find one, and take a moment to breathe, and you’ll realize that life isn’t nearly as bad as it feels right now.

3. Every tiny victory is one you can use to help someone else.

There’s one thing I always told myself when I was having a rough day, and that was this: every tiny victory, no matter how small it is, is a chance to help someone else. I’ve been on the edge, and I’ll take every opportunity to talk the next person off it.

4. There’s always someone to talk to. You get have to raise your head and take a look around.

There’s always someone there. For me, it was the one lonely star outside my window. I could see it just peek out from behind the trees every night. It was what I talked to. It was always there. You’ll get there too. You’ll find someone that understands, and you’ll realize that they are just a phone call away.

5. Realize the world is so big and there are so many things left for you to do.

You will survive this day. You will go on to do all the great things that I know you can do. You will make it. I know it.

6. The rest of the world doesn’t see your crippling anxiety, they see your beautiful smile.

You’re going to have to learn to show it more often. It sure is beautiful.

7. You always somehow end up surviving.

Funny how that works. Even when you feel like you’re going to die, even when you’ve given all you can give, even when you’re so close to breaking that you can see the fault lines–we always somehow survive.

8. You are so much more than just your anxiety.

You are a sister or brother, a daughter or son, a friend, a mentor. You are somebody’s everything. Someone wakes up every morning thanking God you’re in their life. Keep it that way.

9. Don’t let it label you.

You aren’t simply what your anxiety tells you to be. You are better than it. You can overcome it. You can be so much more than just a list of symptoms. You just have to believe in yourself.

10. Don’t go. You have so much left to teach us.

This world needs you. It’s not your time just yet.