Home > Author > Sara Barnard
21 " Here are three separate but similar things: shyness, introversion and social anxiety. You can have one, two or all three of these things simultaneously. A lot of the time people thing they're all the same thing, but that's just not true. Extroverts can be shy, introverts can be bold, and a condition like anxiety can strike whatever kind of social animal you are. "
― Sara Barnard , A Quiet Kind of Thunder
22 " Bad brain: You know that thing on Saturday? It's going to be a disaster.Good brain: No, it won't. It'll be fine.Bad brain: You'll say something stupid.Good brain: No, you won't.Bad brain: Yeah. You will.Good brain: OK, yeah, you will. But that's not a disaster.Bad brain: Yeah it is. Rhys will be like, damn, I've made a mistake here.Good brain: No, he won't.Bad brain: Yeah. He will.Good brain: That might happen, actually. "
23 " With lightning, you're never really sure if that's what it was; it's just a flash. Thunder, you know. You feel it. "
24 " Things I worried about on the bus: a snapshot of an anxious brain . . . Is that car slowing down? Is someone going to get out and kidnap me? It is slowing down. What if someone asks for directions? What if—Oh. They’re just dropping someone off. The bus is late. What if it doesn’t arrive? What if I’m late getting to school? Did I turn my straighteners off ? What if the bus isn’t running today and no one told me? Where’s the—oh. There’s the bus. Oh crap is that Rowan from Biology? What if he sees me? What if he wants to chat? Hide. Okay, he hasn’t seen me. He hasn’t seen me. What if he did see me and now he thinks I’m weird for not saying hi? Did I remember to clean out Rita’s bowl properly? What if she gets sick? One day Rita will die. One day I’ll die. One day everyone will die. What if I die today and everyone sees that my bra has a hole in it? What if the bus crashes? Where are the exits? Why is there an exit on the ceiling? What if that headache Dad has is a brain tumor? Would I live with Mum all the time if Dad died? Why am I thinking about my living arrangements instead of how horrible it would be if Dad died? What’s wrong with me? What if Rhys doesn’t like me? What if he does? What if we get together and we split up? What if we get together and don’t split up and then we’re together forever until we die? One day I’ll die. Did I remember to turn my straighteners off ? Yes. Yes. Did I? Okay my stop’s coming up. I need to get off in about two minutes. Should I get up now? Will the guy next to me get that I have to get off or will I have to ask him to move? But what if he’s getting off too and I look like a twat? What if worrying kills brain cells? What if I never get to go to university? What if I do and it’s awful? Should I say thank you to the driver on the way off ? Okay, get up, move toward the front of the bus. Go, step. Don’t trip over that old man’s stick. Watch out for the stick. Watch out for the—shit. Did anyone notice that? No, no one’s looking at me. But what if they are? Okay, doors are opening, GO! I didn’t say thank you to the driver. What if he’s having a bad day and that would have made it better? Am I a bad person? Yeah but did I actually turn my straighteners off ? "
25 " What are you thinking, Steffi? What are you thinking?Everything, all the time.You're so quiet, Steffi. Why are you so quiet?But in my head it's so loud.I'm sure everyone has an inner monologue, but I doubt many are as wordy as mine. "
26 " Here’s the thing about anxiety: it’s not rational. It’s not rational, but it’s still real, and it’s still scary, and that’s OK "
27 " There are some people you will do anything for if they really need you "
28 " Tem is always the one who takes the lead, who makes the friends. The needed one. I am the one who needs, the one who misses. "
29 " Meekness is my camouflage; silence is my force field. "
30 " We all deserve the opportunity to expand ourselves, to spread out wings and see how it feels to fly. "
― Sara Barnard , Goodbye, Perfect
31 " See how small it is, Eden?' he said. 'You remember that, if life ever feels too much. It's all so very small. "
32 " What if I speak at the same time as someone else? What if no one hears me and I have to repeat myself? What if I say something stupid and they all look at me weirdly? Why would anyone care what I have to say anyway? "
33 " Here's the thing about anxiety: it's not rational. It's not rational, but it's still real, and it's still scary, and that's okay. "
34 " Things I worried about on the bus: a snapshot of an anxious brain . . . Is that car slowing down? Is someone going to get out and kidnap me? It is slowing down. What if someone asks for directions? What if—Oh. They’re just dropping someone off. The bus is late. What if it doesn’t arrive? What if I’m late getting to school? Did I turn my straighteners off ? What if the bus isn’t running today and no one told me? Where’s the—oh. There’s the bus. Oh crap is that Rowan from Biology? What if he sees me? What if he wants to chat? Hide. Okay, he hasn’t seen me. He hasn’t seen me. What if he did see me and now he thinks I’m weird for not saying hi? Did I remember to clean out Rita’s bowl properly? What if she gets sick? One day Rita will die. One day I’ll die. One day everyone will die. What if I die today and everyone sees that my bra has a hole in it? What if the bus crashes? Where are the exits? Why is there an exit on the ceiling? What if that headache Dad has is a brain tumor? Would I live with Mum all the time if Dad died? Why am I thinking about my living arrangements instead of how horrible it would be if Dad died? What’s wrong with me? What if Rhys doesn’t like me? What if he does? What if we get together and we split up? What if we get together and don’t split up and then we’re together forever until we die? One day I’ll die. Did I remember to turn my straighteners off ? Yes. Yes. Did I? Okay my stop’s coming up. I need to get off in about two minutes. Should I get up now? Will the guy next to me get that I have to get off or will I have to ask him to move? But what if he’s getting off too and I look like a twat? What if worrying kills brain cells? What if I never get to go to university? What if I do and it’s awful? Should I say thank you to the driver on the way off ? Okay, get up, move toward the front of the bus. Go, step. Don’t trip over that old man’s stick. Watch out for the stick. Watch out for the—shit. Did anyone notice that? No, no one’s looking at me. But what if they are? Okay, doors are opening, GO! I didn’t say thank you to the driver. What if he’s having a bad day and that would have made it better? Am I a bad person? "
35 " Shall we talk through what’s worrying you?” he asks, patient as a saint. “People.” “The Gold family, or the staff at the restaurant?” “Both.” “Because you’ll need to talk to them?” I nod. “The Gold family invited you,” Dad says. “They’ve spent an evening with you before, and they enjoyed your company. They’ve invited you to share an evening with them again. Because they know they will enjoy your company again. And why wouldn’t they? You are a sweet, kind, interesting girl. "
36 " There’s no such thing as getting your hopes up if you’re anxious. Little victories are everything in a world where worst-case scenarios are on an endless loop in your head. "
37 " Valerie: Yeah. You know I'm a massive nerd. You don't get that way from liking things to be easy all the time.Me: That's true. You're a massive nerd.Valerie: Well, all the best ones are. "
38 " This is going to be the kind of thing I remember in the middle of a normal day in like five years time.Hey, Steffi, remember when you made a complete twat of yourself? "
39 " I can understand people just fine," I grumble, flicking my fingernails against the skin of my thumb. "But can they understand you?" Jane asks gently. "Remember life is about dialogues, not monologues. "
40 " Mum has had an anxious daughter for sixteen years, and she still doesn’t seem to get the concept of little victories. That spending an evening where I wasn’t feeling sick every time someone asked me a question is actually a really big deal, and the fact that it might just be a one-off is the kind of thing I’m already worried about. There’s no such thing as getting your hopes up if you’re anxious. Little victories are everything in a world where worst-case scenarios are on an endless loop in your head. "