In 2021, there were 359 million reported cases of anxiety disorders worldwide, making anxiety disorders the world’s most common mental disorders (World Health Organization, 2025). Anxiety is very common; however, it is not talked about as often as it should be. Within this written narrative I will talk about what anxiety is and how my piece represents anxiety. Anxiety is defined as “An emotion characterized by apprehension and somatic symptoms of tension in which an individual anticipates impending danger, catastrophe, or misfortune,” (American Psychological Association). Everyone experiences anxiety from time to time, and regular anxiety is a normal response to stressful or uncertain situations. For example, someone may feel anxious before an exam, speech, or important event. This type of anxiety is usually temporary and decreases once the stressful situation is over. An anxiety disorder is different because the anxiety can become excessive, persistent, or difficult to control. The anxiety I am expressing in my piece is specifically talking about anxiety disorders such as generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), panic disorder, agoraphobia, social anxiety, separation anxiety, and many more. Some symptoms of anxiety include feeling restless or tense, trouble sleeping, trouble concentrating, feeling weak or tired, hyperventilation (breathing hard), and being unable to stop worrying. There are many areas in life where people may experience anxiety. Some examples would be while driving, at work, with relationships, financial concerns, and more. However, anxiety can be very hard to notice in your everyday life. This difference is important because feeling anxious does not automatically mean that someone has an anxiety disorder. The severity, duration, and impact of the anxiety are important factors in understanding the difference. While someone may look fine on the outside, they aren’t on the inside. Although there are treatments like therapy and medication, not everyone who experiences an anxiety disorder receives treatment. This makes it even more difficult for others to understand what is going on. According to Psychology Today, 75 percent of people who have an anxiety disorder don’t get treatment. Raising awareness and reducing the stigma around mental health can help people to feel more comfortable in receiving treatment. It is important for people to recognize that asking for help is not something to be ashamed of, and greater understanding can make it easier for people to seek the support they need. I chose anxiety because I personally have been dealing with anxiety for the past ten years of my life. It is not a topic that is talked about or understood enough by the general population. With my piece I wanted to show how everything might look okay on the outside, but on the inside there is a mess of tangled strings and worries. I used darker colors to portray the feeling of being overwhelmed, stressed, and even depressed. The wrinkles surrounding the head are to represent the thoughts that are constantly going through a person’s mind and how those thoughts can’t necessarily be controlled just like how the wrinkles within the piece cannot be controlled. I chose to embrace the wrinkles and add more depth to them to show how these thoughts can feel as though they are spreading beyond the mind and affecting the rest of a person’s life. The black silhouette outlined in light blue is there to represent how things may look okay from an outside perspective. Within the black silhouette is a brain and each string within the brain cavity has a different meaning. The tassel represents school, the white shoelaces represent athletics/physical wellness, green represents family, yellow represents friends, red represents health, gold represents finances, blue represents career, black represents stress, purple represents spirituality, pink represents love, and the white flowers represent rest. Together, these materials show that anxiety is not caused by just one thing. Instead, different parts of a person’s life can contribute to the thoughts and worries they experience. There is also meaning behind the border surrounding the fabric. Embroidered around the edges is the word “sonder.” Sonder is defined as “the realization that every stranger you pass is living a life as vivid and complex as your own,” (Radparvar, 2026). I originally wanted the border and the word “sonder” to be perfectly sewn, but toward the end, the sewing machine messed up the stitching and the last two words did not turn out how I wanted them to. This was really frustrating for me because I wanted every part of my piece to be perfect and exactly how I pictured it in my head. However, I had to learn to accept that not everything is in my control. Instead of trying to fix it and making myself even more frustrated, I decided to embrace the mistake and leave it as part of the piece. This connects to anxiety because sometimes I can get caught up in wanting things to be perfect or worrying about things that I cannot control. Having the imperfect stitching in my piece made me realize that sometimes I have to let things be imperfect, even when it makes my OCD and anxiety go crazy. Overall, I want my piece to bring awareness to anxiety and show that it is more complicated than simply being nervous or stressed. Anxiety disorders are extremely common, but many people still do not receive treatment or feel comfortable talking about what they are experiencing. I want viewers to understand that someone can appear completely fine while having a lot going on internally. Through the tangled strings, darker colors, wrinkles, and the word “sonder,” I wanted to show the complexity of anxiety and encourage people to be more understanding of what others may be experiencing.

SOURCES

Alonso, Jordi, Zhaorui Liu, et al. “Treatment Gap for Anxiety Disorders Is Global: Results of the World Mental Health Surveys in 21 Countries.” Wiley, January 22, 2018. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/da.22711. 

“Anxiety Disorders.” Mayo Clinic, July 29, 2025. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/anxiety/symptoms-causes/syc-20350961. 

“Anxiety Disorders.” World Health Organization, September 8, 2025. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/anxiety-disorders. 

“Anxiety.” American Psychological Association. Accessed September 4, 2026. https://www.apa.org/topics/anxiety. 

Bazely, Samantha. “How Anxiety Impacts Everyday Life.” MentalHealth.com, September 10, 2025. https://www.mentalhealth.com/library/anxiety-impact-on-daily-life. 

Calear, Alison L., Philip J. Batterham, Michelle Torok, and Sonia McCallum. “Help-Seeking Attitudes and Intentions for Generalised Anxiety Disorder in Adolescents: The Role of Anxiety Literacy and Stigma.” European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry 30, no. 2 (2021): 243–251. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-020-01512-9.

Radparvar, Dave. “Sonder Meaning: A Word for the Lives of Strangers.” Holstee, August 28, 2026. https://www.holstee.com/blogs/mindful-matter/sonder?srsltid=AfmBOor_ZpyDz2h1wAcEi0gNrk36G_kJ_9b0ndbYEqvXw5r817U8pBMZ. 

Sandoval, Alejandra. “Perfectionism & Generalized Anxiety Disorder: The Connection.” The Anxiety Center, August 6, 2025. https://www.theanxietycenter.com/post/perfectly-anxious-the-link-between-generalized-anxiety-disorder-and-perfectionism.

Stein, Murray B, and Michelle  G Craske. “Anxiety.” Science Direct. Accessed September 6, 2026. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140673616303816?via%3Dihub. 

“Why 75 Percent of Anxiety Sufferers Fail to Get Proper Care.” Psychology Today, 2018. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/psychiatry-the-people/201808/why-75-percent-anxiety-sufferers-fail-get-proper-care.