For women with anxiety, it often expresses itself in deeply personal ways. In my own life, it makes me retreat rather than reveal. I feel the safest when I’m fully covered, moving quietly through the world, doing my best simply to exist without drawing sexual attention. Because of that, it’s beyond difficult for me to relate when I see others who speak about having anxiety yet feel comfortable dressing revealing, discussing their bodies openly, making money off of their body or sharing intimate images online. My experience is the opposite: anxiety makes me want to disappear, not be seen.
A little secret… And that’s the truth behind why I disappear – not out of shame, but out of self-preservation. Anxiety pushes me in inward, into stillness, into silence. It’s not a performance; it’s survival.
Now do you see how loosely some people use the word “anxiety”? I am not sorry…
Real and raw with genuine anxiety,
Jennifer Nicole Nelson, Principal Designer
