And so what advice would you give to someone who kind of might be dealing with their own anxiety while trying to support others?

I would tell them that it's not just all in their head. I mean it is head, but it's not you thinking there's something wrong with you. That there are other people, tons of people that have the same healing, the same anxieties. Seek out, get anxiety, get counseling, get medication if that's something that's needed. Not for everybody, but acknowledge it. Don't try to bury it and sweep it underneath the rug. I think that's the worst thing you could do is try to ignore it or avoid it. I think the best thing to do is to face it and address it and do what you need to do. Find support group, again, find counseling, but don't ignore it. And I think a lot of people who experience anxiety for the first time or I mean even for years don't know what that is anxiety, right? If no idea that it's actually called something, what they're experiencing actually has a title and it means something. And they just think it's just part of them and they blow it off. But there is some relief and there are answers and there are support groups.

So my advice to somebody would be to acknowledge it and not ignore it.

Exactly, exactly. Talking through it is just something that, and acknowledging the fact that you may have something greater than just a stressful little point in your life.

Listen to your gut. There's something wrong. There might be. Address it.

Awesome. Well, thank you so much for talking on this little project I'm doing.

You've hit all the points that I'm trying to study. Thank you so much for sharing with us and we'll move on to my mother's section.

So, are there any misconceptions about anxiety, especially kind of in the workplace,

or do you think that people don't understand things? I do, I think unless you've really experienced it, I mean, I think it's really hard for people to grasp it. My husband is a good example. He accepts it, but he doesn't really understand it. He doesn't get anxious like I do, he's the complete opposite. And he doesn't understand it, but he knows that it is happening. And he understands that I, I'm not feeling good and I'm feeling anxious, but he's never experienced it. So, he just doesn't really understand it, but accepts it. And I think a lot of people too, who haven't experienced it, think that it's something in their head that you can overcome, or which is true sometimes, or it's just a part of life or being nervous, and people handle it differently. And I think that people who don't have anxiety just can't see the other side. It's difficult for them to understand and see that point of view.

And also anxiety in my opinion, and people may not agree with this, but there are chemical imbalances in your brain. And if you don't have enough or too much of something, then that's gonna trigger something, and it's gonna give you anxiety also.

And I think people who haven't experienced that also think that that's, yes, I don't, because I have medication that truly helps me. So, that's kind of where I stand.

Yeah, and I confide in my sister all the time to0 she's kind of on the more harsher end of the spectrum with what she takes medication as well. and she's dealt with it so much in her life. And we've always come to each other just to talk about it.

But we, yeah. And so dealing with that and confiding in others is so important too, and kind of feeling that you're not alone in this.

Can you kind of describe what anxiety feels like for you in your daily life or, you know, when was the first time you experienced it?

Yes. For me, anxiety feels like you are out of your control and that you are limited to make choices because you can't see other options. Anxiety blocks you from seeing other options and day-to-day life, anytime I've been nervous about something or feeling anxious, I feel like that moment comes up for me where I get blocked and I can't see other opportunity or anything other than what I'm anxious about at that moment in time. So for me, that's what anxiety has felt like and it's not just a mental aspect of it.

It's physical too. Like my hands get numb, my feet get numb. I sweat, my blood pressure raises, my heartbeat gets fast. It almost turns into like a panic attack if it's bad enough. But I think the big thing is that anxiety blocks you from seeing other opportunity, other options and it blocks you from any kind of clear point of view.

Yeah, and I talked about this with CJ, too, who I also studied and he was talking about like also the educational aspect of it, how before he went into his Spanish final, his sophomore year of college, he's never experienced anxiety in his life, but this in particular, like literally he could not go.

Like he was...

It takes over, yes. It does. Anytime I have a big project or meeting, I get consumed with anxiety and it's hard to push through, but we do what we do.

So how do you kind of manage your cope with anxiety, especially like in a professional setting like HR?

So I am on medication. I'll start with saying that. But I just have to stop and back up and think about what I'm doing. I stop and I back up and I think, okay, what am I doing? What am I about to walk into for a meeting? Why am I walking into this meeting? What's the worst thing that could happen? What's the best thing that could happen? I can't even write notes. Sometimes it's better if I don't write notes. It just depends on what's happening. But I try to back up and just see the big picture before going into it. And if I can have a little bit of control of my anxiety, then it isn't so bad. But the anxiousness and anticipation just kind of consumes you. But I think stepping back and seeing the big picture, taking deep breaths, I know everybody says that it's totally cliche, but it's a thing. To deep breath really does work. So those are some things I do.

I'll talk it out. I'll write it out. Even if you don't use those things later, just seeing the big picture, I think helps for me anyway.

And then right when you even step into the setting that your anxiety written of, it kind

of like for me, it just like all clears out. And I feel kind of like I'm ready. I prepared for this and all the worries kind of just go away.

Yes. And it's silly too. There's just things that you don't even need to be worried about.

I mean, I even get anxiety before I even walk into work for no reason. Before I walk into work every single day, I have a little bit of that anxious feeling. And as soon as I walk in the door and I sit at my desk, I'm like, oh, okay. And then I feel normal again. So it's repetitive and it's over silly things, but it's kind of always lingering.

Yeah, yeah, for sure. And even on that same scale, even going to like first day of college, first day of classes, like so anxiety ridden, and I talked to this about with Olivia too, going to her first like dance class of the year or going to her first school event, you know, it's super, super anxiety ridden and we can see it in everyone and all.

Alright, so onto the final portion of my study. I am here with my cousin, Kelly Ann.

She is, I'm going to compare her with my mother, Janice, and so you can introduce yourself.

Okay, hi, my name is Kelly Ann. I'm Sarah's cousin. I live in Crystal Lake, Illinois, and I'm the Human Resources Generalist for our local school district. And I live in this town with my husband and my two little girls.

Awesome, that's perfect. And so we're just going to kind of dive into it. As you know, kind of anxiety. It does run genetically in the family. My sister and I have it, and almost everyone else in the family also has anxiety.