Member-only story
Let’s talk about why you’re anxious all the time
Recently, I was at dinner with friends. The music was pleasant enough, the food tasty, and the company divine. It’s rare this particular group gathers together so it felt like a real treat. At some point, the topic of politics came up (as it tends to at times), and I noticed when my friend Jonathan changed the subject. Later on, while we were exiting the restaurant, I took him aside and asked how he was doing. “I’m sorry about earlier,” he said, “but I’ve gotten so anxious, I have to watch a half hour of animal videos each night just to come back to some semblance of normal.”
I had no idea my friend’s anxiety had risen to this level, and while I was saddened to hear it, I figured watching animals play was better than what so many of us do to lessen the overwhelm that plagues us. Some are so on edge, they habitually pick up a bottle and pour a drink. Others prefer popping pills. Some throw themselves into work in some hopeless effort to “catch up” and be free of work anxiety, pretending that tomorrow won’t bring new emails to respond to. So . . . animal videos? I could shrug and accept my friend’s coping mechanism pretty easily.
The conversation stuck with me, giving birth to my noticing how all-pervasive and perpetual anxiety is for so many people. It’s not just my friend who was experiencing new levels of stress leading to anxiety…