Hint: There’s many faces to anxiety and depression.

Don’t believe me? Allow me to point to my own Instagram stories. If you watched them yesterday, you might’ve seen me explain that I’ve had two anxiety attacks within the past week.

Why? Well, I can think of a few things that have caused this, but I’m not sure if anyone that suffers from anxiety or depression really knows what their triggers could be. I’ve had some personal issues with my mother lately. My routine hasn’t been consistent this past week and a half. To be further honest, there’s still parts of my “new” job that I’m adjusting to. All of that seemed to come to a head lately.

When I finished crying, I decided I should shoot some Instagram stories to give people an actual look at what someone in an anxious or depressed spot looks like.

We know that anxiety attacks and depression can bring tears. You didn’t need to see that part of it. I felt that you needed to see me looking exhausted (physically and mentally), unkept (in my own opinion) without makeup or proper hair styling, and less focus on my appearance in general. To me, those are things that might not be immediately noticeable, but they’re clues as to where my mental state is.

If my makeup isn’t done, I’m not attending events I’d otherwise like to, outfit not on point, and my hair isn’t styled, those are clues that something is on my mind and heart because I enjoy those things.

I’m not going to pretend that those clues apply to every anxious or depressed person, but my point is that it might help to observe when someone you love is behaving “out of character.” Do they love makeup and fashion? Are they not taking care of themself the way that they normally would? Are they closed off? Is there anything that they’re doing that just isn’t their “normal” to you? Are they refraining from doing things that they normally enjoy?

If the answer is yes, there’s nothing wrong with a simple, “Hey, how are you doing?” Everyone, anxious or not, could use that.