Dealing with mental illness is challenging to say the least. When you have an anxiety disorder, it’s easy to feel like you’re alone and that no one else experiences what you do.
Sometimes, we get so caught up with the frequent attempt to conceal mental issues, we forget to realize almost everybody experiences anxiety.
Here are some anxiety quotes to remind you that you can survive almost anything.
As long as you have the right mindset.
“Anxiety Quotes”
Whether it’s depression and anxiety quotes combined, funny anxiety quotes, or positive anxiety quotes, they might just give you what you need at that moment to keep pushing through.
Celebrity Anxiety Quotes
Celebrities have their struggles with anxiety as anyone else can. Sometimes the wisdom they share from their experiences is helpful to others on a broader scale.
Lizzo
“Rejection triggers my anxiety and depression. Once I learn how to choose myself and be completely validated by that choice, I’ll put the trigger in my hands and not in the hands of others.” – Lizzo
Lizzo is a singer, writer, and songwriter achieving mainstream success with the 2016 hit “Good As Hell.”
Nominated for eight Grammys at the 62nd Awards, which was the most for any artist that year; in 2019, Time named her the “Entertainer of the Year”. She’s won a BET Award, two Soul Train Music Awards, and a Billboard Music Award, in addition to three Grammy Awards.
Despite her success, she’s said that she does experience anxiety.
She says it’s difficult for her to regain control of those feelings sometimes.
Especially when she is feeling the inevitable rejection that can come with being in the limelight in the entertainment industry.
Ryan Reynolds
“I have anxiety. I’ve always had anxiety both in the lighthearted ‘I’m anxious about this kind of thing.’ I’ve been to the depths of the darker end of the spectrum, which is not fun… So when the curtain opens, I turn on this knucklehead, and he kind of takes over and goes away again once I walk off set.” – Ryan Reynolds
Ryan Reynolds is an actor and film producer as well as an entrepreneur.
His successful career has spanned decades, but he still grapples with anxiety.
Chris Evans
“Shh’ has been a big thing for me. It’s so funny how noisy my brain is, and everyone’s brain is noisy because that’s what it does. It makes thoughts. The root of suffering is following that brain noise and listening to that brain noise and identifying with it as if it is who you are.” – Chris Evans
Chris Evans is the star of the Captain America and Avengers series and has become increasingly successful in the past five years.
Despite that success, Evans has spoken about how his thoughts have the potential to hold him back.
Positive Anxiety Quotes
Even when they don’t come from celebrities, there are plenty of positive anxiety quotes that may help you feel better when you need it most.
“Anxiety’s like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do, but it doesn’t get you very far.”-Jodi Picoult.
Jodi Picoult is an American writer, having published 26 books. She writes popular fiction and has covered controversial topics, including abortion, school shootings, and LGBT rights.
“Every time you are tempted to react in the same old way, ask if you want to be a prisoner of the past or a pioneer of the future.” Deepak Chopra.
Chopra is a leader in the New Age movement, and he has been featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show, among other media outlets.
“You don’t have to control your thoughts. You have to stop letting them control you.”-Dan Millman.
Millman is best-known for the book Peaceful Warrior, which was a story of his life. He’s also a speaker in personal development.
“Nothing diminishes anxiety faster than action.”- Walter Anderson.
Anderson was an American writer and painter. He wrote logbooks as he traveled by bike to cities throughout the world, reflecting on nature, art, and the world around him.
Depression and Anxiety Quotes
Depression is a human trait that does not discriminate because depression is so insidious that it compounds the best moments, even for the people who seem to be the happiest.
In a bad situation, Depression and Anxiety often go hand-in-hand; some of the brightest minds in history struggled with this combination of disorders.
“Worrying doesn’t empty tomorrow of its sorrows; it empties today of its strengths.”- Corrie ten Boom.
A Dutch writer, Corrie ten Boom’s most famous book was The Hiding Place.
It’s a biography that tells the story of her family’s efforts to help Jews escape from Nazis during the Holocaust by hiding them in their homes.
She was found and imprisoned at a concentration camp, and The Hiding Place details how she found hope during that time.
“You must hold your quiet center, where you do what only you can do.”- Ha Jin.
Ha Jin is a Chinese American poet who writes about his experiences growing up in communist China. He moved to the U.S. to attend Brandeis University.
“You are allowed to feel messed up inside and out. It doesn’t mean you’re defective—it just means you’re human.”- David Mitchell.
David Mitchell is a British writer, actor, comedian, and presenter on shows like “Would I Lie to You.” His writings often appear in The Observer and The Guardian.
“Man is not worried by real problems so much as by his imagined anxieties about real problems.”- Epictetus.
Epictetus was a Greek philosopher living in Rome who taught that philosophy was a way of life rather than a theory. The core of his writings was that all external events are outside of our control, and we should accept what happens calmly and without passion.
Overwhelmed Anxiety Quotes
“Stay afraid, but do it anyway. What’s important is the action. You don’t have to wait to be confident. Just do it, and eventually, the confidence will follow”- Carrie Fisher.
Fisher is best known for her role as Princess Leia in Star Wars, but she was a long-time actress before she passed away in 2016 at the age of 60.
“It’s not a mountain that you climb or a hurdle that you jump. It’s something that you live within an ongoing way. People say that the narrative of illness being in the past tense but a lot of the time it isn’t.” John Green.
Green is a vlogger and writer. His first novel, Looking for Alaska, won a Michael L. Printz Award from the American Library Association, and it’s often described as one of the best books for young adults. It was turned into a Hulu series in 2019.
“When life gets hectic, and you feel overwhelmed, take a moment to focus on the people and things you are most grateful for. When you have an attitude of gratitude, frustrating troubles will fall by the wayside.”- Dana Arcuri.
Arcuri is an author, speaker, and coach who speaks out about her experiences with abuse and trauma. She works to help women find their individual voices.
Funny Anxiety Quotes
“I told my psychiatrist that everyone hates me. He said I was being ridiculous. Everyone hasn’t met me yet.”- Rodney Dangerfield.
Dangerfield was a comedian, actor, and writer known for his self-deprecating style. Dangerfield started working in the resorts of the Catskill Mountains and his breakout was in Caddyshack.
“I can sympathize with people’s pains but not with their pleasures. There is something curiously boring about somebody else’s happiness.”- Aldous Huxley.
An English writer, Huxley wrote almost 50 books, both fiction and non-fiction. He was nominated for a Nobel Prize in Literature nine times, and his most famous novel was Brave New World.
“When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries disappear, and life stands explained.”-Mark Twain.
Mark Twain is one of the most well-known American writers in history. He’s often described as the best humorist who has ever been from the United States.
Depression and Anxiety Treatment
While anxiety is a complex disorder, by relying on some of the quotes above, you might feel a little more optimistic about your journey and what you’re going through at any given time in your life.
Is anxiety or depression is becoming too overwhelming?
If these postive quotes are not enough to get you through, we highly encourage you to contact one of our trained medical professionals here at the Mental Health Centers of San Diego.
Don’t be afraid to get help, it’s the first step to a better life.
