I have severe anxiety

I have severe anxiety. I was diagnosed with it 15 years ago. I am employed full time,and take medication. Anxiety is a REAL condition,with REAL side effects. If you haven’t had a panic attack,then you have no idea what you are saying if you think Anxiety isn’t ‘real’. There are physical symptoms. When I first started having panic attacks,I thought I was having a heart attack. You can’t breathe,your chest hurts,you shake,you cry. All of this comes out of the thin air,completely unexpected. Was I under stress? Yes. Have I been able to control them? No,not without the medication. I was having up to 10 attacks a day when I found the correct medication for my body. It took me 5 years to get correctly diagnosed due to lack of educated doctors and lack of access to mental health facilities. I also have a sister with anxiety,a mother with anxiety,and both my children have anxiety,which leads me to believe it is genetic. It is believed to be a lack of hormone in your brain or something like that (I’m not a doctor). I do believe there are people out there who use these conditions as an excuse not to work,or to collect benefits,etc.,and that makes me mad. We need more professionals who can do more in-depth diagnosis and treatment. I still get panic attacks on a regular basis,even on my medication. But I wouldn’t be a functioning member of society if I didn’t have the inner strength to continue to fight for my treatment and be determined to be a successful person. That training came from my family. Others aren’t taught that you live your life no matter what. You need to be taught strenth in life in order to get through the tough times. That’s a place our society fails. We offer many supports that are ‘crutches’and don’t teach people how to become functioning members of society. I believe there are some groups out there doing an amazing job –Salom Mission is one. Don’t judge mental illness until you’ve seen it or experienced it for yourself.