Anxiety Is a Superpower
Anxiety made me who I am. It’s made me empathetic to others because anxious people learn to quickly scan faces and body language, to read emotions.
You can’t see it on my face, but I’m almost barking with panic in the photo at the top of this piece.
And not just because I was on a stage in front of hundreds of people who I was sure would soon walk out.
The other reason I’m terrified: anxiety. When I sketched out the talk months before, I thought: What better way to deal with my anxiety than to just create a whole speech about it?
What seemed like a good idea then now seemed incredibly stupid. This was 2016 and no one I’d ever seen had chosen to use their education conference keynote to do such a thing.
The insides of my cheeks were shredded from biting them to quell the panic.
It could be worse and it probably is, my brain said as it lapped the inside of my skull.
“What’d you learn at school today, Grace?”
“I learned that the antibacterial soap we use doesn’t work anymore and we’re making superbugs that will kill us all.”
This is a scene from the first season of Nurse Jackie illustrating the growing…
