1/8 I’ve come across a meme a few times called ‘High Functioning Anxiety’. It lists a bunch of ways that that indicate you may be a person with anxiety who is also high functioning. All of which make me think these folks are barely functioning let alone on a high level.

2/8 I am a person who deals with generalized anxiety disorder. So my anxiety manifests as a constant state of doom. This meme also describes past me perfectly. Past me also crashed extremely hard. Because our brains/bodies are not meant to be in a constant state of anxiety.

3/8 This particular meme also has an underlying tone of martyrdom. Like if you have to do everything or the world will most definitely stop turning. You have to say ‘yes’ otherwise ppl won’t like you. Nobody does things right. Therefore you have to do them.

4/8 We need to stop the normalization of anxiety. Wait. I don’t mean we shouldn’t talk about it or it’s something to be ashamed of. Absolutely not. What I mean is we (as a society) need to stop telling people this is an ok existence. That pushing yourself to the brink is ok.

5/8 It’s not ok. You will burn out. Your brain/body will eventually say ‘Nope’. I know this bc I burnt out. Hard. And it took me 3 or 4 years of therapy, meds and really hard work to dig my way out of that. It wasn’t cool. But it was.

6/8 I still deal with anxiety. In fact, I currently take 15 mg of Escitalopram and 10 mg of melatonin every night. But I don’t deal with the type of anxiety that comes from pushing myself to the brink or trying to be everything for everyone or trying to be perfect.

7/8 My point is. We need to stop this trope of telling ppl it’s ok/normal to push yourself to the brink. That feeling this level of constant anxiety is ok. It’s not.

8/8 Employers, especially, need to start modelling self care and encouraging wellness. Like more than just access to an EAP. Start encouraging/allowing flex time. Stop asking for more. Start company-wide wellness activities. #letsdiscuss