Anxiety Can Look Like a Sink Full of Dishes

“Anxiety can look like a sink full of dishes.

For me, anxiety and depression don’t always look like what the movies and commercials display.

A lot of the time, it looks like a sink full of dishes.

Those dishes can be so heavy just to look at.

They’re a reminder of one task on my to-do list not checked off.

It feels like moving forward but not actually going anywhere. Just stuck.

Anxiety can look like taking 3 hours to get ready to go somewhere.

For me, I want to make sure I have everything with me to go anywhere, even if I don’t NEED it.

Because, what if I NEED it?

It feels like moving forward but not actually going anywhere. Just stuck.

Anxiety can look like wanting to eat something but not wanting to eat something.

For me, when I want to eat something, I don’t always want to cook.

Because cooking means another mess I have to clean, another 30 minutes or so not spending time with my kids, and then the guilt sets in.

It feels like moving forward but not actually going anywhere. Just stuck.

Anxiety can look like I’m happy and having a great time, but my brain never stops thinking of what I didn’t accomplish.

For me, it’s this constant list in my mind I daydream about accomplishing.

I can see my painted bathroom cabinets, my pressure-washed front bricks, the framed pictures of our family; and yet I can’t seem to piece together the time to complete them.

It feels like moving forward but not actually going anywhere. Just stuck.

Anxiety can look like a sink full of dishes…”

This story was submitted to Love What Matters by Holly Dignen. You can follow her journey on Instagram and Facebook. Submit your own story here and be sure to subscribe to our free email newsletter for our best stories, and YouTube for our best videos.

Read more from Holly here:

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