What Anxiety is Like from the Perspective of a Counselor (Who Struggles with Anxiety)

by Bridget Nash

I was describing what it’s like to have anxiety to a friend of mine who, fortunately for him, does not struggle with daily anxiety. I wonder, if for anyone else, my experience sounds familiar.

I explained: anxiety can sometimes be like having smudged-up glasses.

I sometimes get ‘tunnel-vision,’ only seeing what is directly in front of me because my peripherals are compromised. It’s harder for me to be aware of what’s going on around me because all I can seem to clearly focus on is what’s dead ahead.

I get distracted by the dust and fingerprints and it seems to be all I can think about at times.

My reaction time is slowed because it takes my brain longer to recognize and make sense of so much external stimulation through the cloudiness of my lenses.

I worry that I’m in people’s way, making things harder for them just by being around them and struggling with this inward issue. Will they be mad? Think I’m incapable?

I may give into some compensatory behavior like tugging at my eyelashes or trying to blink away the thing that’s bothering me. Even though the rational part of my brain is telling me “it’s on your glasses, not in your eye, Stupid,” but the anxious part of my brain tricks me into believing “maybe if you did more, you could get rid of it.”

I might experience physical reactions like my eyes tearing up, headaches, stomach aches that I know are ‘all in my head’—there’s nothing actually wrong, but the discomfort is still there.

I feel embarrassed that I can’t immediately pull them off, shine them up, and solve it. Some days I don’t have the tools I need or the time it takes to clear things up. I feel guilt that I need glasses in the first place when there are plenty of people around me who aren’t wearing a pair of their own.



However, in spite of how negatively I experience my anxiety, I am learning to appreciate and work with it. Like a trusty pair of glasses, I am working to allow my anxiety to sharpen my sense of safety and inform me in times when I need additional clarification.