Molly Gorman discusses the therapeutic benefits of talking about mental health. Whether that is in the form of a scream, shout, tears, or ranting to someone you trust with a cup of tea. 

For some with anxiety,

They are screaming – ‘leave me alone’.

Others are screaming – ‘I want to run away and never be found’.

I am screaming –

Hold me tight and never let me go. I need to feel secure. I need to feel comfort from someone who loves me. I need to feel the fresh air. I need to be reminded to breathe. Just for one minute, I need someone to snatch the irrational thoughts from my brain. Those thoughts which are dragging me into insanity and into a hazy suffocation of unhealthy thoughts – to bring me back to normality.

General anxiety and panic attacks may feel uncontrollable, but with time, they can be seen as nothing but a brief blip in your day. I am lucky to say that anxiety is not an issue that I feel is a part of my life any longer; only on a rare occasion will I find myself struggling with a panic attack that lasts for a few minutes, but will leave me feeling not quite myself for a few days.

This leads me to the pinnacle point of this article. It is well known that unfortunately millions of people men and women deal with anxiety every single day. It is completely common for someone to experience a lot of anxiety that may haunt them for a long period of time, or for them to have episodes of it that last merely an hour. Yet a massive stigma is still attached to anxiety: a stigma that is both weakness and fear. People deal with anxiety in different ways, but for me and for many other sufferers that I know of, the best way to deal with it is to let it out. Whether that is in the form of a scream, shout, tears, or ranting to someone you trust with a cup of tea. I’ve always found that this makes me feel much better than if I were to bottle up my emotions and explode a few days later.

Nowadays if I have a panic attack I know the importance and necessity of ringing or finding someone that I love, someone that can calm me down. I do not yet know how to deal with it alone, but I am learning day by day.

Anxiety is not a weakness but a sign of strength; in that it shows an ability to project inner emotions – whether that is fear or sadness. For those who struggle with anxiety and coming to terms with their own emotions, they should know that they are not alone, and according to Anxiety UK, recent research has shown that up to 1 in 6 young people are affected by it. This may be through OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder), social anxiety, exam stress or panic attacks.

All I can ever suggest to someone with anxiety is to never forget to breathe, and to breathe slowly. Never lose sight of yourself and to remember that there is always someone there who is feeling exactly like you perhaps hundreds of miles away.

Image by Molly Gorman