Anxiety is a normal and common body response to stressors in our lives. Yet, as these stressors increase, your anxiety can feel like anything but normal. For folks with marginalized identities, this tension can be even higher in the face of oppression and regular microaggressions. With your body tense and your heartbeat quickening, you feel out of control and want to find a way to get rid of these distressing emotions, whether through numbing yourself out, seeking distractions, analyzing all your interactions, etc. These strategies might or might not be helpful at different times in your life, but your existence today is already a testament to all of your creative and resilient effort to move forward and protect yourself against physical and emotional dangers.