Sonder: Youth Mental Health Stories of Struggle & Strength | Page 39

A friend named Anxiety
by Abigail Woods
I have a friend I can find in all my memories-
She was there in every moment I can remember
In the worst times, the best times,
And everything in between
Always,
Always with me
I try to escape
But she is so
Insistent.
No matter how good it gets
She remains on the sidelines.
No matter how bad it gets
She remains wrapped around me
I feel her hands pushing down on my shoulders
Her eyes piercing into my mind
Her lips whispering into my ears.
I can’t cry because she will only get worse.
She remains in the strains
Of my life
Tells me
The thousands of things that could go wrong
Reminds me of the millions of things that already have
Reassures me that I should always be afraid.
I have a friend named anxiety
Sometimes I am her
She is me
We are blazing and broken
She is constantly reminding me
That she will never leave me
For my better or my worse
She is here
Maybe she isn’t really a friend
No, Anxiety is an illness
I convince myself is okay
Anxiety  37