Have you ever had an opponent where they know everything inside your mind? Can you imagine formulating strategies to conquer them and having them punch holes in all your logic and rationalizations before they have even left the confines of you head? How intrusive is that?! Laughing at your every attempt to outsmart them or make them into something insignificant. An enemy that knows your intimate thoughts and feelings, whose goal it is to disrupt your thoughts and feelings would definitely appear to have a most extreme upper hand. But wait, there is good news! You always hold the trump card, always. The one true and infallible weapon you have against them is simply whether or not you choose to listen and believe their lies. When you strip down the outer show your anxiety is putting on, all you are left with is a tremendously weak challenger. The only power they have is the power you yourself relinquish to them. Without you paying attention to them they have nothing. They don’t even have the power to exist. This truth is simple. It does not seem like much, I know! But you will see in time that it is perfect. You do not need anything else. There is no off switch, there is no magic drug, and there is no miracle cure.

I can easily understand how the situations it places you in can seem so impossible and so hard. I have been tricked many times, too many times. It’s just as smart as you and the likelihood is that if you are having problems with anxiety you are a smart individual so anxiety has all the resources you possess as well. Every argument you compile against it, it will dispute with. In every lie there is always a nugget of truth. An important tool you need to carry with you at all times is perspective. Anxiety magnifies the smallest things and minimizes the big things. It distorts everything. You need to regain in your mind what is actually happening. Give everything back its rightful importance. For example, “No there is no danger here. No you are not trapped in this movie theater. No you will not make a scene. No you are not crazy. Yes you are perfectly capable of staying in your seat until you calm down. Yes you can enjoy this movie.” Then you need to concentrate on the small things. Saying, “I am okay” and breathing deeply, slowly and controlled. Then you realize you need to relax the tightly crossed legs and clenched fists. Your body is receiving a false message from your brain and you just need to give it the correct one by listening to reason. Reason will not naturally be with you when you panic but it is always there in the background and you can find it again.

Anxiety is a fucking liar! If you want – Get mad at it! All the more power to you. Remember you do not have to be perfect. You do not have to win every time! You try your best and remember there is nothing wrong with you =) We all have battles and remember you are never alone.