“Get Nervous” is a song by Pat Benatar that is all about anxiety. I listened to it for the first time when I was like 12 or something and even though I liked the song I didn’t know anything about what the word anxiety actually meant.
I wish I still didn’t.
Even all the way back then, 1980-something, if I had known the true meaning of the word I would have realized it was something I already suffered from and would continue to do so for the rest of my life.
The thing that causes me the biggest anxiety: people. Not online. That seems to be ok. In “real life” though, I’ve always had trepidations about people. I don’t understand them too much and the stuff they do. I’m a person, so you wouldn’t think it would be that big of a deal.
Not so. Most of the time I feel disconnected and alienated from the vast majority of people… it’s like I’m on one side of the river and everyone else is on the other side… they seem to be having a lot of fun… once in a while I join in and feel connected for just a moment or two but then I remember that I’m still on the wrong side of the river. It makes me sad… and sometimes mad… sounds so self-centered maybe… but that’s just how it feels.
Anyway, enjoy the video! It features a great cameo by… someone who looks amazingly similar to Peter Dinklage… as a crazed medical professional of some kind…. hmmm….
Memo at midnight: Don’t be afraid to talk about mental health
The Sunstone Journal 
As another who has and does deal with anxiety in its many forms, I can understand the emotions that are a part. As a youth, I always felt that I was divided from the others by a clear pane of glass. I could look, I could hear, I could be that close, yet not be a part of the gathering. I am far from a youth, but I still often feel alienated from those around me. The struggle is real.
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Sorry to hear that 😕
It’s not a fun thing to have to go through. It’s gotten better as I’ve gotten older but I still often feel that way
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Thanks for visiting!
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Anxiety always seems to rip me a new asshole. Too often I spend hours trying to ground myself and stop thinking about the feelings I am overrun with. I don’t want to promote drug use, but the introduction of micro dosing mushrooms have helped tremendously. every 2 or three months I go out in the wilderness and do an excursion while taking a bigger dose. I feel more connected and grounded after each excursion.
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I’m the last person to judge what people do to cope with the craziness of life. Being out in the wilderness for a while sounds good… unplugging is necessary from time to time. Just be careful not to let the wilderness keep you like it did with Chris McCandless. 🍃 🍂 🍃 🍂
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“Thick on the ground”… you do have a way with words… and I’m quite fond of people who have a way with words… written or otherwise 🙂
I’ve been prone to overuse of the ellipsis… or ellipses… lately. I’m also aware that I’m in violation of probably all of the rules in regards to them and furthermore lack the inclination to look up the rules. Not sure what all that means but I just thought I would run that by you… seeing as you have such a way with words.
It’s amazing how much of a difference there is between a great professor and a not so great professor. Just simply amazing!
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One area (among many) where you most definitely are not alone, JoAnn, is in feeling much more anxiety in “real” life than you do online. That most definitely is a good description of me. Of most of the people here, I suspect.
Online, we have the time to think about what we read and then, in turn, to give thought to an appropriate response. In addition, many of life’s pretenses are shed online, both ours and others’, leaving interactions much less heavily laden.
“Real” life? Huh-uh. We’re expected to have a perfect response at the ready. Delivered flawlessly, of course. I mean, that’s the way it is on television and in movies, right?
OK, give me several million dollars and a team of top-of-their-craft writers. Oh, and unlimited “takes,” too. Then, yes then, I’ll be golden.
Until I am, I’ll be anxious. Hence, the anxiety. An occupational hazard of those living in the real world.
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Yes you are very right. I would have to guess that a large percentage of those of us who have blogs are also people who have taken up the medium as a way to make up for some kind of connection we are lacking in real life. It’s not unreasonable to say that anxiety may play an equally large role in those connection problems.
I once told a professor that my thinking process seemed to be slower than some other people in class, which is why I liked writing so much as opposed to talking. She pretty much scoffed at me… as in she didn’t believe me at all. Not nice I thought 😕
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That’s quite perceptive, JoAnn, identifying blogging as an activity that salves our mental wounds. These breaches are of varying depths, yet all cry out for the comforts and togetherness blogging brings.
Why else would we spend many hours a day writing and commenting, listening and reading? Maybe because here we find people who understand us. Sure, they exist in the “outer” world too, yet they’re pretty thick on the ground around these parts.
Oh, your professor’s lack of understanding is especially surprising for someone who, at one point, must’ve entertained some impulse to help her fellow-creatures. By the way, I hope you’ve reconsidered your earlier disparagement of your thought process.
On the contrary, your blog speaks of a mind alive with a lively interest in all manner of worthies. Including, most telling, coconuts. Obviously, we aren’t trout. Each of us has unique aptitudes and priorities. Fine, your priorities may have differed from what your professor expected. So?
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“Thick on the ground”… you do have a way with words… and I’m quite fond of people who have a way with words… written or otherwise 🙂
I’ve been prone to overuse of the ellipsis… or ellipses… lately. I’m also aware that I’m in violation of probably all of the rules in regards to them and furthermore lack the inclination to look up the rules. Not sure what all that means but I just thought I would run that by you… seeing as you have such a way with words.
It’s amazing how much of a difference there is between a great professor and a not so great professor. Just simply amazing!
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I’m so sorry you have anxiety, but you’re not alone. You’re not alone on whichever side of the river you are. It might seem so but it isn’t. I know it doesn’t get easier and meds just make it manageable, can’t always cure it but it’s okay. Sometimes, people become support systems, like bridges between the two sides of the river. So hold on till you find yourself people like that. Hugs 💜🥺
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That is true. Thank you and thanks for visiting!
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your blog is amazing!
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Thank you and thanks for visiting! 🙂🌻
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You’re certainly not self-centred JoAnn. And anyway, so what? We all are to a degree, otherwise we wouldn’t be able to cope with anything at all. I’m glad you find Mindfulness works for you – I love it too 🙂
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Yes, discovering mindfulness has made a big difference for me, which is why I love passing it on to others in turn 🙂
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Too many people say “it doesn’t work for me” but they don’t give it long enough or practice it often enough. I think it’s amazing 🙂
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That is very true!
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Actually, Peter Dinklage is not in the Anxiety video. He was 13 years old in 1982. 🙂
All the best to you.
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Ha ha, I didn’t think that fully through did I … it just looks so much like him!
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He definitely looks like him, so I understand the confusion! 🙂
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Anxiety is something that doesn’t visit me very often. When it does, it is extremely hard to shake. I find I have to immerse myself in some kind of demanding activity that requires my full attention to be rid of it. Or take Valium.
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One of those two 🙂
That’s why I’ve found mindfulness practice to be so helpful. In basic terms mindfulness is simply immersing yourself in some kind of activity so that the mind gets distracted from whatever is causing the anxiety. Hopefully that works more often than the Valium! I’d be lying though if I said I never ever in my life used certain strong painkillers to deal with anxiety. 😳
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I find a long demanding hike distracts my mind and burns all those stress hormones. I am able to think more clearly as I start to fatigue a bit.
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Physical activity plus hopefully lovely scenery as well. 🙂
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Succinctly put. The otherness. Big hair! Takes me back 🙂
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Yes, loved Pat Benatar back then and still do 🙂
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Maybe you are not on the wrong side of the river? Who knows what kind of experiences you have made with people that cause this anxiety … if not in this life, then maybe in another incarnation.
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Yes maybe so 😕
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