This blog post was sparked by the following post, originally posted by George Takei:
Severe Anxiety Explained
One of my sons deals with severe anxiety EVERY.SINGLE.DAY. of his life. He deals with social phobia the severity of which renders him homebound frequently. Meds help, but they don't completely "fix" the problem.
Anxiety is real, folks. It's not something you can just "get over" or turn off like a light switch. It isn't something that you can control.
Its debilitating and crippling. Its frustrating and aggravating. It infiltrates a family and changes its dynamic.
It isn't a way to get attention. If anything, he wishes he could just disappear and not draw attention to himself.
Sometimes my son looks "fine" or "normal" (whatever that is), and he seems okay when he most definitely is not.
Other times, he's a fun-loving, carefree kid enjoying spending time with his friends like he's supposed to at this age.
The catch is: he never knows which it's going to be. There are triggers and we certainly try to avoid them as best we can, but he can't control the anxiety any more than he can control the weather.
The most frustrating thing for me as his mother is there isn't a lot I can do to help. God what I wouldn’t give if I could just take it from him and let it be me rather than him!
Instead, I am his umbrella.
I crawl inside his sofa cushion fort and ride out the anxiety with him.
I snuggle next to him and let him hide his face in my shirt while pretending I'm the one who needs a hug to keep him from being embarrassed.
I splash his face with cold water when he's in a full blown panic attack and can't catch his breath.
I clean up my car and help him change clothes when the very thought of having to be in an unknown situation causes him to vomit uncontrollably.
I patiently listen when he obsesses over perceived wrongs and continually repeats things that are bothering him; things that most people would simply shake off and then move on.
I get him the very best mental healthcare available; driving over a hundred miles round-trip to see the best child psychiatrist in the area.
I fight for him and jump through any hoop I need to in order to make his struggle a little easier.
I react immediately when he tells me he doesn’t feel right. I consider myself extremely fortunate that he’s self-aware and trusts me enough to come to me and tell me something is wrong. Some parents don’t have the chance to help their kids who are struggling before it’s too late.
If you're friend or family to someone who also suffers from severe anxiety, be their umbrella. Your kindness, understanding, caring, and love may be the thing that helps make their life a little easier today.
