anx·i·e·ty

anx·i·e·ty
aNGˈzīədē

When you know what you want until you sit down

Then suddenly, you’re paralyzed, and you simply just cannot.

When you try to accomplish the things on your list

But they sit there untouched worse yet, not jot.

When you worry about your own worrying

And others see it as behavioral sub par propriety

But this is our reality, once truly seen,

Cannot be unseen - this is anxiety.

I used to think I knew what it meant,

To feel distressed, uneasy, anxious

But until it consumes you, and begins to run your life

You simply can’t know what we’re trying to express.

“Buck up. Perform. Find your why. Calm down.”

All nice in our heads, and certainly well intended

But at the end of the day, whether two, five or ten

Help us not a single one in ten did. (Yes, Yoda pun intended =)

It’s not that we don’t appreciate your help

It’s not that the things you say are not true.

Believe me, we wish we could start; we could stop.

But for us it’s like everything at once crashing through.

So, we go on a jog. We breathe in counts of ten.

We listen to music to calm our souls.

We literally take things one syllable at a time

Breaking it up into pieces to accomplish a whole.

So, when someone you love suffers from this debilitating disease,

Put them at ease, not by telling – breathe with them.

Suggest one simple next action, take the greater half.

And above all, what you think you understand, please don’t condemn.