I know what you’re thinking, mainly because I am Obiwan and I know the exact droids you’re looking for. And no not the old Obiwan, the younger one with the nice beard and timeless visage. Right now you’re thinking, “What in the world could my anxiety disorder and Darth Vader have in common?”
Well, my young apprentice, you shall see.
Side note: I still haven’t seen Episode VIII yet and I am excited to watch Rey and Finn be all kinds of perfect…especially Finn.

Anakin, your rats tail is ridiculous
Anakin (The mere visage of how an anxiety disorder can change you)
“Cue the music”
(Dun, Dun, Dunnnn-Dunnnn-Dun-Dun-DUNNN)
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away was you, a person without a care in the world, merely learning the force as an apprentice to the great Obiwan Kenobi and Qui-gon Jinn. Then it happened….the dark times…the empire. But, amongst the unmitigated disaster that is your life, you managed to hold on to your identity. Through triumph and circumstance you willed your way into becoming a Jedi and you were happy for a time, but something happened – as it always does.
Your once clear mind grew turbid and cloudy as you began to question the actions of the council and those close to you, for the world and its many paradigms have shifted since you were young only to leave you here – lost.
This pit in your stomach, a pit that was born the very day your mother died, only grew with every kill and war torn encounter since then. You have fought this feeling. First, quietly in the dark then, loudly in the light, but it has only flourished and now this pit, has become a chasm and you don’t know how to get back to yourself.
You begin to spout maligned phrases like “This is my new empire,” “Don’t make me kill you,” and the best one of all, “You underestimate my power.” Either way, you say extremely mean things to your pregnant wife, and to make matters worse, you find yourself dueling with your very best friend and brother atop the lava infested dying planet known as Musafar.
That’s right, you are having the wickedest case of PMS known to man, as your eyes have cast themselves a fiery crimson. Now when you stare in the mirror, you barely recognize yourself, because, well, your suit makes you look bloated, a bit robotic and it’s far too heavy.

Whoa, my voice is awesome
Laryngitis
By now your voice is beginning to sound deep and throaty like James Earl Jones, and your affinity for wearing towering suits of armor that fully encumber your body have all but consumed you.
Indeed, this anxiety disorder thing has become you, but at least you wear it well, and thank god it comes in black. Gosh, you’re such a diva.
The upside is, cosplay is easier than ever.

This Cereal is disturbing
Breathing problems (Anxiety disorders cause breathing problems)
You huff you puff, you blow that house down. These days you walk around force choking everyone and anyone unfortunate enough to be in your path, because your anxiety disorder has crippled you and your suit is really tight.
Your pain is constant and sharp and you would be damned if you didn’t inflict some of that pain on others. Besides, force choking is fun as hell. But, this isn’t you, it’s time for a snickers bar.

Did I ever tell you the story of Plagueis the wise?
Lord Vader’s medicine cabinet (You are a captive to yourself)
Lately you’ve been saying a lot of “Yes Master” this and “Yes Master that. Completely subjugated to Lord Palpatine’s will. Right now you have finally begun to realize you don’t like this person you are becoming and this Sith lord thing is not all what it’s cracked up to be, well – aside from the perk of force lightning.
At this point you have alienated your family, friends and this person that you are, is beyond reproach. Only the chancellor and all of his evil will love you for the menace you are, because in his own cruel and diabolical way, he helped to create you. This small part of you knows this isn’t forever, the emperor couldn’t possibly live another five years. Whenever his pending death arrives you will be free from his shackles for good. But at this point you don’t know if that’s true or just some fairy tale you have manifested in your mind so you accept it because in a very strange way, you feel beholden to him.
Oh and if Lord Palpatine kind of sounds like an analogy for anti-anxiety meds – it is.

I am……not…….the father
Conflicted
It’s been decades since you went a moment without feeling the allure of the dark side, but now a glimpse of hope shines its way into your life. A bridge back to the person you were before. Your son.
The only problem is, he wants to take you and the emperor down and he’s willing to do anything to make that happen, including killing you.
Sure you love your only begotten son, but you have been Vader for so long shrouded in the darkness and the meds that you have become a bit numb to it all. The truth is, you know what it feels like to be at the helm of your own empire, you are widely considered the most powerful Sith in the universe aside from your master who is clearly on the decline and you’re not sure if you are ready to relinquish such a thing.
Plus your death star is an absolute marvel.

Is, that like cosmetics or something? Is the death star that good?
May the force be with you?
With a little help from your family and your brilliant therapist, you turn the corner and finally defeat the darkness within whilst pushing Darth Sidious to his death no less. Your mask, your suit, even your whole dark façade are finally gone and you are free to be the person you once were, but now you are even better. Not just because you are a force ghost, but because you have grown to appreciate the world in a way you had never seen it before.
The light that you once thought would never grace your eyes again is back and the person you lost all those decades ago is still there.
The world and all of its imperfections appear more beautiful than ever before and in a strange way, it wouldn’t be possible without an anxiety disorder being a part of your life. The best part is, you can finally breathe again, on your own no less and boy does it feel good to not wheeze.
And if you were wondering, yes…..I am your father.
Simba…
(Also please check out my other articles on anxiety 3 things “The Dark Knight” taught me about anxiety, How I cured my Anxiety, How to stop a Panic Attack, Go to war on your anxiety, they are sure to help.)
Here is a few…(non Nerdy Lion articles as well) because I am benevolent and I like to share.
5 ways to get rid of anxiety (without medication)
How to stop feeling anxious right now
Happy New Year.
I love this! I love the way you approach topics like this with humour and understanding. Thank you for that
Also, you made me laugh out loud at the last line!! 😂
https://thoughtavalancheblog.wordpress.com/
🙂 thank you. Everything is a positive side to it, that’s the way I try to write 🙂 thanks for reading and have a happy New Year
You have a way with words and a special knack for analogies. Always a pleasure reading your blog. 💜
Thank you 🙂 I appreciate it so much. I’m just happy someone enjoys reading my blogs haha.
I really do. I admire your writing style. Looking forward to future posts 🙂
🙂
Perfect! Loved reading it!
Thank you so much!
You’re welcome. 🙂
Lol this is great! So on point. Thank you for the like on my first post!
No problem, I love reading other peoples posts!
Hahaha always wondered as a child why Anakin did what he did. He seemed to have it good as a Jedi. But, of course, anxiety! That bitch. 🤷
First of all, thanks for liking my post the other day.
Second of all, sorry I’m just now getting around to readying some of yours — they’re all very enlightening, and have already prompted me to make some changes in my blogging habits.
Most of all, this post is EVERYTHING! I’ve suffered from anxiety attacks and depression since I was about 10 years old…long story how it all started. The attacks grew much worse after my wreck back in 2003. 2 years ago I had to resign from a teaching position because of them. Now, I’m worried that I’m about to have to do it again.
My anxiety is making me so Darthy! I stay angry all the time because, frankly, it’s the easiest emotion to really dig into. I don’t trust anyone…well, you know the drill. I don’t like who I’m becoming. So, now I’m gonna go over and read your post about how you cured your anxiety.
A little ironic side note: I started my blog in the midst of a dreadful episode of panic attacks that had me housebound for nearly a year. I used to write a lot about anxiety, but folks didn’t seem to care much to read about it. Maybe now that I’m taking your advice about engaging with other bloggers, I’ll start again.
Wow, this comment is long! Sorry…but, yeah, I really like this!
Thanks for sharing! It is tough to fight those feelings, I know exactly what you mean. I suffered from anxiety for 6-8 months, at first I didn’t know what it was, but I was having panic attacks which at first were because I was worried about my heartbeat (I like to exercise) so this went on for a while and only got worse and worse and then I decided to go to a therapist and the panic attacks went away almost instantly but then I had general anxiety all the time which was almost worse. It took a little bit but I had to change a lot of my thought processes and eventually I started to feel better, I guess deep down just knowing I’m in control and that it cant stop me from being me gave me power over it. You are always in control 🙂
Brilliantly observed and well written. :0
Can l tempt you Leo to the dark side to write what inspires you to write to your readership with the questionnaire from Truly Inspired?
https://aguycalledbloke.wordpress.com/truly-inspired/
If so, drop me a line at aguycalledbloke63@gmail.com and l will email you the questionnaire.
Love it! Made me laugh out loud and I gained a whole new perspective on Anakin. Might be time to re-watch some movies.
Yeah I agree I still haven’t watched the 8th one. Time for a marathon
Marathon might be just what I need right now.
At first I thought it was just funny but then I realized just how much it’s true. Vader was trapped, no one loved or cared about him any longer because he had literally killed them all except for his son…a new hope not only for the galaxy but for Vader/Anakin himself
Heyy I have only read this post of yours since it’s the most recent but I can already tell that you are such a humourous and witty person and that’s a great attitude to have in life. Keep it up!!
Thx for checking out my blog. It’s small but something nevertheless. Hopefully you could connect to my content and liked it. I have been trying to make it more personal and open and honest so encourage everyone to just be themselves. Basically a platform where no one will get judged and you can voice your opinions. I am glad you stumbled across it.
If you have any feedback for me please don’t hesitate to tell me or get in contact. xxx
Hey I have only read this post of yours since it’s the most recent but I can already tell that you are such a humourous and witty person and that’s such a great attitude to have in life. Keep it up!
Thx for checking out my blog. It’s a small community but something nevertheless. Hopefully you could connect to my content and liked it. I have been trying to make it more personal, open and honest to encourage everyone to be themselves and not be ashamed to embrace it. Basically a platform where you can be assured to be judged and voice your opinion. I am glad you stumbled across my blog.
If you have any feedback for me then please don’t hesitate to tell me or get in contact. xxx
Thanks again I’ll be sure to follow
Oh wow thx!! That’s so kind!
Oh wow thx!! That’s so kind! Hey I nominated you for the Liebester award. To learn more about it check out my most recent blog post!! xx
This is SO cleverly written! Thanks for making me smile x
🙂 thank you. I’m so glad it did!
Superb analogy! I lingered on the Dark side of the force much of this week. I recently changed to the light side today. Hopefully I can keep my momentum going into next week.
Superb analogy! I lingered on the Dark side of the force much of this week. I recently changed to the light side today. Hopefully I can keep my momentum going into next week.
I know you can, just keep thinking positive and when the negative thoughts come, fight those off. You are always stronger than the darkness.
I LOVE STAR WARS, grew up with it in the house have yet to see the new one…so I’m excited to READ this blog post, but this just gave me SOOOO much anxiety as to how long this is, so its like i gotta ask myself how much do i really wanna heal, or when?! I NEED to read this but my anxiety disorder peppered with my adhd will NOT allow me to read this. Not to be a negative nancy but, I guess it pointed out to me like damn, is MY posts LONG AS hell like this — as I am new to this whole blog thing, I too have sooo much on my heart as you can now obv tell lol but, I have made it a goal to read bc having just been diagnosed with ANXIETY DISORDER i don’t know where to turn or what to do. #oneDay I’ll def have to #usetheforce on this one. Lol, I mean no disrespect by commenting all this – its just an observation about an observation, I hope I didn’t offend you. Please don’t be mad, bare with me… cuz I think I might NEED YOU. You might be my #onlyHOPE
<3
Don’t worry my friend. There’s nothing you could say that could offend me. This is probably my longest post. Unfortunately when it’s something important like anxiety or death and you have a guide on it, it’s nearly impossible to make it really short because there’s alot of information. I actually thought of making this a two parter but I didn’t want to waste people’s time. Check Out my other posts this one and my first post are by far the longest every other post is between 600 to 1400 words. I really hope that you find the words you need to see on WordPress to help with your Anxiety. If you need any advice don’t be afraid to reach out to me :).
<3