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YOUMAY NOT HAVE THE CONDITION, BUT WHEN YOUR
LOVED ONES EXPERIENCE IT – SO DO YOUIT’S THE NIGHT BEFORE MY BEST FRIEND’S daughter’s
birthday when we get the phone call. She’s having a party at
a theme park down the coast, and they’re going to need two cars
to get all the kids there. They’ve got two cars; that’s not the
problem. The thing is, she needs an extra adult to co-pilot and
champion her on the open road; her anxiety means that she
doesn’t trust herself to drive alone. Without a second thought, my
partner mutters, “Yep, I’ll do it.” It means reshuffling his Saturday
plans and those of our kids, but her anxiety is part of our lives now.
The stigmatised condition — and the havoc it can wreak in
your life — is both blind and relentless. Anxiety does not
discriminate. I’ve lived with it for close to two decades; it’s not
within me but, for my friend, it’s a daily battle. We were 13 when
we first met, and I’ll never forget that first day of high school;
standing on the steps to the assembly hall, sizing each other up,
we both knew it was “friendship on”. We were different to one
another, for sure. But somehow I knew from the start that this girl,with her restless fearlessness and a twinkle in her eye, would go
on to be a mate for life.
Anxiety struck when she was 23 and travelling abroad.
What should’ve been the time of her life was the start of
a nightmare. And even though anxiety hasn’t left her housebound
or slumped in corners, bereft (she’s actually become an
incredible businesswoman with a holistic approach to business
acumen) there’s no denying her anxiety has held her back. At
times, she’s felt gaslighted by the world, pressured to claim
good health, push herself beyond the limits; when really,
frustrating as it is, her condition has prevented her from making
certain career moves.
The beast is real; according to the Australian Medical
Association, a confounding 45 per cent of Australians will
experience a mental health condition in their lifetime.
That’s consequential; not just for those receiving the diagnosis
but for everyone around them. Anxiety and other mental healthFRIEND,
ANXIETY
MY
WORDS BY
FELICITY BONELLO