Freaky Friday

By: Hailey Prokop

My relationship with anxiety has changed drastically over the past several years. Although I finally feel as though I’m starting to develop a healthy relationship with anxiety, I’ve gone through many ups and downs especially throughout high school. After years of dealing with anxiety, I’ve learned to first acknowledge it and recognize why it’s there. For example, I tend to get really nervous before exams and presentations because I put pressure on myself to succeed in order to achieve my academic goals. 

After this recognition, I try to accept these feelings instead of fighting it. I understand that my anxiety isn’t simply going to go away if I wish it too, and have found that fighting against it can sometimes make the situation worse. It’s important to recognize it is normal to have anxiety and that it can be beneficial in many ways. So instead of wishing it away, look at the positive side. Anxiety can help us stay motivated by pushing us to study for an exam or arrive early for meetings. Although we tend to focus on the bad parts of anxiety, I believe it is prudent to always acknowledge the good as well.