Anxiety can be a debilitating condition and it looks different for everyone.
For one mum, Caitlin Fldager, it means picking at her skin until it starts breaking and leaving marks on her body.
The mum-of-two from Vancouver, Canada, has been open with her mental health in the past and posted a happy family photo days before trying to take her life.
Now the mummy blogger has revealed how her anxiety manifests physically and stops her from being in public places without looking for the nearest exit.
She wrote on her Facebook: ‘I have had people tell me “anxiety isn’t as bad as you make it out to be, it’s just in your head”.
‘So, I want to show you what anxiety looks like, on the outside. My raw, scratched up face and chest. The sores I pick at until they bleed.
‘This is anxiety. Anxiety isn’t just feeling nervous. It’s picking your skin raw. It’s not just feeling worried, or feeling your heart race.’
Her post resonated with thousands, many of whom hadn’t realised that their similar conditions such as picking at their skin may also be a result of undiagnosed anxiety.
Caitlin told Metro.co.uk that she has ways to deal with the effects of anxiety, though there is no straight-up cure.
She said: ‘I smoke weed, I talk to a therapist, and I take medication.
‘I wanted to share this image of myself because it needs to be talked about way more.
‘I just want to help others feel less alone.’
In the past, Caitlin has been criticised for saying she thinks smoking marijuana has made her a better mum.
Caitlin argued that smoking recreational drugs after the kids have gone to sleep was no different than a glass of wine at the end of the day.
Where she lives, weed is legal but her followers still argued that they wouldn’t do the same.
Regardless of divided opinion, Caitlin wants to have transparent conversations about mental health issues.
She continued in her Facebook post: ‘Anxiety takes a huge toll on me physically, not just mentally.
‘I can’t wear lower cut shirts without someone looking at my chest, asking why is so red and scratched up.
‘I can’t go anywhere where there is a lot of people, without telling myself, that I am not sick. I am not going to throw up. I haven’t come down with a flu in ten seconds.
‘I need to remind myself that I have anxiety.
‘I need to remind myself that it’s okay to take a minute alone in the bathroom, or that it’s okay to leave a party early.
‘So, next time you want to tell someone anxiety is all in their head, or it’s not as bad as we make it seem, take a look at my forehead and chest.
‘Remember my scratched up, bloody skin, before you tell someone it’s all in their head.’
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