How do explain anxiety to people?

[Libbyjay]

How do explain anxiety to someone that has absolutely no concept of it? How it feels, what happens and the best way to help when an episode happens.

I'm trying to help someone understand it a bit but I'm failing terribly. Any tips of advise would be greatly appreciated x

[purplerose]

That's something I would like to know too!
Ive always hidden my social anxiety from everyone in fear they will mock me or think badly of me and won't understand.

[Libbyjay]

It's really hard isn't it. I know they will never fully understand buy I'd like to think there is hope for a little understanding. I sometimes wish I get them to experience it just for 1 day. But then I think I wouldn't want to inflict it on anyone even for a day. Over thinking again lol

[newbs16]

To be honest I find anxiety hard to explain and I have it sometimes lol

Sometimes I wonder if you need to explain to others that you have it, they must see the way you might react to certain situations and you worry or other think things x

[blancmange]

I've always found it hard to open up to people about my anxieties. Be as honest as you can. Maybe write how you feel down and then let them read what you've written, that's sometimes easier then saying it out loud.

[Libbyjay]

I don't mind telling people that I trust. It's just that it doesn't happen very often lol

[TTSP]

There's not been many times where I've felt able to discuss it with someone in real life, but once I compared SA in a challenging social situation to how you feel half an hour before giving a presentation infront of a large group of people: shaking, heart-racing, head spinning with thoughts, you want to be disappear home etc. That feels somewhat similar to how my SA feels, but it's hard to put into words.

[Libbyjay]

Thanks flumpsy and TTSP. Both really helpful

[purplerose]

Originally Posted by TTSP

There's not been many times where I've felt able to discuss it with someone in real life, but once I compared SA in a challenging social situation to how you feel half an hour before giving a presentation infront of a large group of people: shaking, heart-racing, head spinning with thoughts, you want to be disappear home etc. That feels somewhat similar to how my SA feels, but it's hard to put into words.

That's a brilliant way of describing it to someone ! Bet they wouldn't judge so harshly then if they realised we felt like this most of he time!

[purplerose]

Originally Posted by Libbyjay

It's really hard isn't it. I know they will never fully understand buy I'd like to think there is hope for a little understanding. I sometimes wish I get them to experience it just for 1 day. But then I think I wouldn't want to inflict it on anyone even for a day. Over thinking again lol

It sure is !!
It might be good for them to experience it for one day then they would remember how we felt a lot of the time and they May be more understanding !

[MissyP.]

What I found helps if you know the person a little better is linking them to a short video about social anxiety from youtube, like a video made by someone else who also experiences anxiety, that way someone else does the explaining, and there is quite a few good ones about.

Another way to explain it to someone is explaining certain situations, what you think, how you feel. For example ordering food at a restaurant or food place, explain why you feel anxious, like you might say something wrong or forget your order or turn red etc, and then say how your anxiety might reduce like someone else ordering, or doing things however you like.

[firemonkey]

For me it's constant thoughts of worst case scenarios and inner dread over the simplest things many people would take in their stride.

[ryan2032]

I described anxiety to my therapist as when I open my front door every step, movement, everything I do feels like it's being judged.

[AutumnLeaves]

Most people know what it's like to be nervous before doing a presentation in front of a lot of people or something similar. So the best way I can think to describe social anxiety to someone else would be that it's a bit like having stage fright, only in everyday social interactions.

[AutumnLeaves]

Originally Posted by cordyceps

I tend to describe having SA as like having needs meters in a video game - only, my meter of comfort/'coping' runs out much, much quicker than 'most' people's, and also take far longer to refill.

My hyper-awareness and fear is dragging the comfort meter down - and as anyone knows who's ever tried to get a Sim in the Sims pc game to cook for himself or take a bath when his nerves are frazzled, it's a lot harder to take care of your other needs when that comfort meter is so damn low. It affects everything else.

Love this I know a gamer who uses this sort of stuff as an analogy for so many aspects of real life. In his case, sometimes I wonder if the two are sort of merging... Anyway, back to the thread topic

[helnhighwater]

I gave up bothering to trying to explain panic/anxiety/SA a long time ago. Think most people just think its an excuse/label.
I find the only people who truly understand are the people close to you who witness the panic/fear/crying and can see how badly it effects you.

[purplerose]

Originally Posted by helnhighwater

I gave up bothering to trying to explain panic/anxiety/SA a long time ago. Think most people just think its an excuse/label.
I find the only people who truly understand are the people close to you who witness the panic/fear/crying and can see how badly it effects you.

So true !!! The people closest will understand more as they see us at our worst when we are full of fear and panic and they can see how much we miss out on things. Others only see what we sometimes allow them to see as we try to put on a brave face and only tell them what we want to tell them.