Do you know how many people suffer from anxiety? According to Better Health, around 25% of the population struggles with an anxiety disorder, and a further 25% deal with less severe anxieties.

One thing that affects a lot of young people, especially if they’re shy, is social anxiety. Imagine walking into a room full of people and your heart starts to beat faster and you start to sweat, and you find it very difficult to talk to anyone there because you have the feeling that everyone is watching and judging you. But this is how many people experience social settings.

I remember once when I first started school, everyone was new to me, even the environment. I was so nervous when my parents were leaving that I started crying. My mom told me to be brave. I told myself, “It’s not a big deal, I just have to hang out with these new people for eight hours and then it will be fine.” Afterwards, my mom asked me how school was that day. I told her that school was better than what I expected. Everybody was very nice, and the teacher was probably the kindest person I’d ever met. Well, I think my mom is still the kindest person but besides her, Ms. Fraser (my first-grade teacher) is the second nicest person.

In my case, courage helped me overcome my anxiety of meeting new people and being in new places. I joined a new school this year and this time instead of feeling anxious, I felt excited. I think courage can help us to face new situations with less anxiety. While the anxiety I experienced was mild, some people struggle with severe social anxiety, and it might seem like courage cannot help this condition, but research from PubMed has shown that courage can even help people overcome severe social anxiety.

I read a quote by Nelson Mandela that really opened my mind about the relationship between anxiety and courage. Before, I thought that brave people never felt anxiety, but Mr. Mandela says that “The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear." I do not have to worry that I am not brave just because I feel anxious sometimes, but I can muster up my courage to face whatever situation I find myself in.