Anxiety Doesn’t Care That You’re Busy

Anxiety doesn’t care that you have a looming deadline – it’s going to come anyway.

Anxiety doesn’t care that you have to wake up before the sun comes up, even though you went to bed only a few hours prior – it’s going to come anyway. 

Anxiety doesn’t care that you have three kids to take care of, and a floor to vacuum, and endless piles of laundry – it’s going to come anyway.

Anxiety doesn’t care that you are trying to juggle motherhood and marriage and work and friendship, and you barely have enough strength to keep treading the waters of life as you have been – it’s going to come anyway.

Anxiety doesn’t care that you are grateful for the things that you have – the roof over your head, the food in your fridge, the love and warmth that you’ve built in your family, and home – it will come anyway and try to take that warmth.

Anxiety doesn’t care that you have things to do.

Anxiety doesn’t care that you need to rest for a minute.

Anxiety doesn’t care that you are doing your best and giving your all and pouring your love from the deep well within you.

Anxiety doesn’t care.

It doesn’t care that you’re busy.

It will never care that you’re busy.

It will never come at a convenient time – it will just come, at full force, when it pleases.

And when that happens, I hope you pause. I hope you push away the busy, and recognize that you have to tell anxiety to leave. You have to ask anxiety to leave your dinner party, and you have to say to it that there is no room for it in your home.

I know you’ll want to tend to the busy.

But first, you must tend to the anxiety. Because the busy will keep bustling and brewing. And if anxiety stays, that busy will come spilling over, like boiling water from a tea kettle, and burn everything in its path.

And you don’t deserve to get burned.

You don’t deserve to get swept up in the thief that is anxiety.

You don’t deserve the cramps that will come from trying to tread the water of busy with anxiety tied to your ankles, trying to weigh you down.

Anxiety will never care that you’re busy.

But your busy will be better if you deal with your anxiety.

Take a breath. Journal. Go for a walk. Push pause on the busy, please. Call a friend, or a therapist, or your spouse. Lean on the ones who love you and want to help you, so that you can find the best way for you to kick anxiety out of your life.