The symptoms of anxiety that Black women often ignore
Imagine receiving an email from your boss requesting to meet with you on the following day, with no further context. Your mind immediately begins to fear the worst. For the rest of the day, you ponder what the meeting could possibly be about to the point of contacting your friends or loved ones to contemplate the content of the meeting. Later that night, you lie in bed unable to sleep fearing the worst ie being reprimanded or terminated. This is an example of anxiety (Black girl anxiety), and as an anxiety sufferer myself, I know the havoc it can wreak on our lives.
Anxiety is the state of living in overwhelming fear and assuming the worst-case scenario in most situations. This fear can cause us to overreact, which looks like lashing out, shutting down, or cutting people off for the slightest infractions. It is truly a dysregulated central nervous system that, when triggered, causes butterflies in your stomach and uncontrollable fears. Anxiety is harmful because you no longer have control of your thoughts, feelings, and actions. You tend to obsess over things and become a victim to overthinking. When anxiety is in control, you will do things that you will later regret and cause harm to yourself and your loved ones. It will also rob you of your sleep and make you feel on edge.
Black women and girls are at a much higher risk of developing anxiety and social anxiety than white women. The reason is very simple: Centuries ago, our ancestors lived the worst-case scenario. There is nothing more damaging than, as a mother, having your children ripped from your arms to be bought and sold into forced, agonizing slave labor. The trauma experienced by our great-great-great-grandmothers changed their DNA. And to us, through DNA, they passed down their fears, worries, and concerns in the form of Black girl anxiety. This fear of losing something important plays out in our daily lives. So when our emotions overwhelm us, sending us into a tailspin because of a simple email from our boss requesting a meeting, because a friend says something that makes us feel a bit uncomfortable, or because our partner doesn’t answer a call or respond to a text, please know that these emotions are the ones we’ve inherited.
We need to address the anxiety we face in our community. Many of us are walking around with undiagnosed anxiety. My sister, please know that God did not create you to live in fear and anxiety. You are created to live in perfect peace and sometimes that requires work. Don’t be afraid to see a therapist and more importantly do not be afraid to take the treatment offered. Your quality of life is at stake. Therapy, prayer, and Effexor literally saved my life.
Peace and Blessings!
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