I think one of the biggest issues I have with how anxiety tends to be portrayed/written is that it’s often presented as an all-or-nothing thing, where a person is fine until they’re mid-panic attack. I can’t speak for everyone with an anxiety disorder, but at least for me, my anxiety is this low-level thing that’s always there going what if you fall down the stairs what if you drop your keys down the gap between the elevator and the floor what if you fail what if you embarrass yourself what if you fall what if you get hurt what if you what if what if what if, and then sometimes it gets worse. Sometimes I’m anxious for literally no reason, sometimes nothing happens and I still feel like I’m going to shake my way out of my skin. And sometimes I’m anticipating something and it’s just this overlying pressure across my back, pressing on me. Sometimes my anxiety keeps me from doing things without giving me the hyperventilating-crying-shaking anxiety attack that people tend to write in stories. And I shape my behavior around my anxiety. I hold my keys a certain way to make absolutely certain they can’t fall, and I always try to hold on to the railing when taking the stairs, and I avoid certain things that I know make me anxious.
My point is that, if you’re writing a character with anxiety, don’t just write a neurotypical character who gets anxiety attacks. Write a character with anxiety.
The Archery Range 