Article: Since telling your friends about anxiety may cause you anxiety, you should help yourself by getting your thoughts together beforehand. If you get anxious and upset while talking to your friends, you may not be able to get words out. Make a list of points you want to make, things you want to say, or ideas you want to address when you talk to your friends. After you write down your thoughts, you should start a new list. Carefully decide who you want to tell about your anxiety disorder. Consider who the person is to you. Ask yourself why you want to tell this person. You should also decide if you feel comfortable with this person knowing. Figure out if you believe the person you want to tell is supportive. How has this person reacted when you've shared things with him or her before? You also should think about whether you want help from the person or if you simply just want them to know. For example, you may want to tell your immediate family, your partner, and your best friends about your anxiety disorder because you spend the most time with them. However, you may also want to tell the person you share your office with about your anxiety disorder in case you face anxiety while at work. Depending on who you tell, the amount of information you share with that person may change. You should consider how much about your disorder you feel comfortable sharing. For example, you may decide to be completely honest with your parents, spouse, or best friend. But you may limit how much detail you give your co-worker. Figure out how much you feel comfortable sharing with your friends. You should also consider why they need to know certain details. Some people may not need to know about medication or some of the ways anxiety keeps you from certain activities. Unless your friends know someone else with an anxiety disorder, they may have no experience with it. They may also not have any knowledge about anxiety, anxiety disorders, panic disorders, or mental health issues. Put together some resources for them so they can learn more about it. For example, you may want to put together a list of websites for them to look at that explain anxiety disorders. You may want to include some first-hand accounts from people who live with anxiety disorder. If you are working with a counselor, then your counselor may have resources that you can share with your friends, such as pamphlets or a list of websites. Ask your counselor if he or she would be willing to share some of these resources with you. When you decide to tell your friends about your disorder, you should also decide if you want any help from them. If you do want help, you should decide beforehand the kind of help you need. You can write this on the same sheet you wrong your thoughts, or you can include this information on the list of people you want to tell. Be as specific as possible about what you need from your friends. This helps them know what you expect from them so there is no miscommunication, which can cause more anxiety for you. For example, you may need your spouse or roommate to watch you carefully and alert you to any changes in behavior you might not be aware of. You may need your best friend to call you if you haven't called in two days. You may need your co-worker to not get offended if you have a mood swing due to an anxiety attack at work. One reason people may resist telling their friends and family about their anxiety disorder is because they feel they are bothering their friends with their problems. This is not true. Your friends care about you, and they are a wonderful source of support for you as you manage your disorder. Your friends come to you with their problems, and you should be able to go to your friends with your problem, even if it is a chronic problem. Think about your situation like this: If you had a medical problem, such as diabetes, cancer, or a broken leg, would you go to your friends? Mental disorders are just as important as physical disorders.

What is a summary?
Write down your thoughts. Make a list of people you want to tell. Outline how much detail you want to give your friends. Gather resources for your friends. State the kind of help you need from your friends. Remind yourself you are not bothering your friends.