Woman’s Before-and-After Photos Show the Truth of Anxiety Attacks


anxiety

Living with Anxiety is not easy. It’s constantly second-guessing yourself, from things such  as picking up the phone, placing an order at a restaurant, or even receiving a compliment. Anxiety is like a big slimy monster who clings to you, and knows how to use all your insecurities and fears to ruin your day in the most degrading fashion possible. The horrible thing about this is you feel you’re the only person who has to live through these attacks day in, day out.

Mental health is still health. It matters a lot, and yet there are still so many misconceptions to break down.

Amber Smith took some photos of herself to show what it’s like before and after an anxiety attack. She uploaded these to Facebook, and they have gone viral for a very important subject.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10209306697722036&set=a.1829413172668.107559.1160492240&type=3&theater

She opens up and lets readers into the heartbreak and the misunderstanding words that do hurt her.

I’m so sick of the fact that it’s 2016 and there is still so much stigma around mental health. It disgusts me that so many people are so uneducated and judgemental over the topic. They say that 1 in 3 people will suffer with a mental illness at some point in their life. 1 in 3! Do you know how many people that equates to worldwide?! And yet I’ve been battling with anxiety and depression for years and years and there’s still people that make comments like ‘you’ll get over it’, ‘you don’t need tablets, just be happier’, ‘you’re too young to suffer with that’.

FUCK YOU. Fuck all of you small minded people that think that because I physically look ‘fine’ that I’m not battling a monster inside my head every single day.

Someone actually said this to me one day ‘aren’t you too young to be suffering with anxiety and depression? What do you actually have to be depressed about at your age?’ Wow, just wow.

Amber ends with a message of peace, love, and a call to action to break misconceptions and have more awareness of mental health issues.

To anyone who is going through the same, please do not suffer in silence. There is so much support around – Don’t be scared to ask for help.

This is why I can’t stress enough that it costs nothing to be nice to others. Don’t bully others, don’t put others down and the hardest one of them all (as we have all done it at some point) don’t judge another person. We’re all human regardless of age, race, religion, wealth, job. So build one another up instead of breaking each other down.

photo credit: Anxiety via photopin (license)
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Kokou Adzo

Kokou Adzo is a seasoned professional with a strong background in growth strategies and editorial responsibilities. Kokou has been instrumental in driving companies' expansion and fortifying their market presence. His academic credentials underscore his expertise; having studied Communication at the Università degli Studi di Siena (Italy), he later honed his skills in growth hacking at the Growth Tribe Academy (Amsterdam).

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