By Amanda Froelich Truth Theory
You’re not alone in this world. If you wake up in the morning dreading your day — not because you ended up with a boring career, but because you are physically, emotionally, and mentally sick with anxiety — you’re not the only one.
In the United States, anxiety disorders are the #1 most common illness. Approximately 40 million adults over the age of 18 (or about 18.1 percent of the population), suffer from the mental affliction. Despite this, most people are still ignorant about what it is like to live with worry, every moment of every day.
To shed light on what it is like to live with anxiety, makeup artist Brittany Nichole Morefield opened a window into her private struggle. In a post she recently uploaded to Facebook, the young mother wrote: “Anxiety is crippling. Anxiety is dark.” She went on to describe it in numerous more ways.
Because so many people resonated with her honesty, the anecdote was shared more than 418,000 times!
The post in its entirety follows:
Being honest about personal struggle is essential — especially in the age of social media. Because society has brainwashed the masses into believing that good looks and money are attractive qualities, nearly everyone attempts to put on a fake facade of perfection.
Perfection is a myth, however. As beings born of contrast, it is a guarantee that everyone will fall — at least once. By being honest about internal challenges, just like Morefield did, tens of thousands of people chose to accept aspects of themselves they formerly rejected. You can inspire the same change by loving the pieces of yourself others might deem “flawed.”
If you, or someone you know needs help, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness at 1-800-950-6264.