Did you hear about the South African pastor who went on a livestream claiming he had a vision that the rapture would occur in September? His message spread quickly, sparking a global frenzy under the hashtag #RaptureTok.

People around the world sold their belongings, canceled plans, and prepared to be swept up into the sky.

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It’s fascinating how easily collective fear—or even collective expectation—can spread. And it got me thinking about something else that’s been everywhere lately: Doechii’s song “Anxiety.”

Some of the lyrics go:

“Anxiety, keep on tryin’ me
I feel it quietly
Tryin’ to silence me, yeah
My anxiety, can’t shake it off of me
Somebody’s watchin’ me
And my anxiety, yeah”

It’s raw. It’s real. And it’s deeply relatable.

If this latest viral trend revealed anything, it’s that anxiety is in the air—more than a personal feeling, but as a shared cultural experience.

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So… What Exactly Is Anxiety?

At its core, anxiety is an emotion. And if you’re human, you’ve got emotions—some that feel amazing and others that absolutely don’t.

Anxiety often falls into the latter category. It’s typically rooted in fear, and because it’s uncomfortable, most of us do whatever we can to avoid it.

But what I love about Doechii’s song is how vividly she captures the experience:

“And it’s like
I get this tightness in my chest
Like an elephant is standing on me
And I just let it take over.”

That’s it. 💯

Anxiety can show up in countless ways:

• Sweaty palms
• A racing heart
• Thoughts spiraling out of control
• Stress poops (yes, we’re going there)
• Feeling completely alone

It can look and feel different for different people.

But here’s the twist—anxiety isn’t always the enemy.

Sometimes, anxiety is the little nudge that helps us:

• Study for that test
• Get dinner on the table before everyone’s starving
• Meet that looming deadline
• Double-check our budget before an overdraft

In its healthiest form, anxiety acts like an inner alarm system.

Emotions aren’t meant to destroy us; they’re meant to inform us. Kinda like dashboard lights, emotions are indicators…pointing to something we need to pay attention to.

When the internet erupts over a prophecy, prediction, or panic, it’s not just about the event—it’s about our collective anxiety.

We’re searching for meaning, for safety, for control in an uncertain world. That same anxious energy that had people preparing for the rapture is the same energy that drives us to scroll, to plan, to worry.

But maybe—just maybe—our anxiety isn’t here to just make us uncomfortable..

Maybe it’s inviting us to pause, to listen, and to ask:
What is this feeling trying to tell me?

Because sometimes, the very thing we want to escape—the tightness, the worry, the what-if—is pointing us back to what’s real, what’s meaningful, and what truly matters.