Anxiety is like having a critical, obnoxious roommate following you around only to highlight the worst things you think about yourself.
Nearly 40 million U.S. adults experience an anxiety disorder in a given year. It comes with debilitating physical symptoms, like headaches and intestinal issues. But perhaps the most insufferable side effect of the condition is the constant barrage of self-doubt, stress and rumination.
Of course, these symptoms may be difficult to understand for those who don’t experience the disorder first hand. Enter the good people of the Internet to help.
We gathered a few posts and tweets that perfectly capture what it’s like to have the disorder. If anxiety could talk to those who experience it, here’s what it would probably say:
