Anxiety Shirts: Finding Humour in the Hard Moments

Anxiety has a way of weaving itself into everything. The way your body reacts before your brain catches up. The thoughts that spiral long after the situation has passed. The constant feeling that something is about to go wrong, even when everything looks fine on the outside.

For a long time, I didn’t realise how much anxiety shaped my day-to-day life. It showed up as overthinking, emotional shutdown, and that familiar sense of being mentally exhausted before the day had even really started. It wasn’t always loud or dramatic. Most of the time, it was just there, quietly running in the background.

This is why I made anxiety t-shirts.

Not to make light of anxiety, and not to turn it into a trend, but to acknowledge it in a way that feels human, honest, and grounding. An anxiety t-shirt can be a small reminder that what you’re experiencing is real, shared, and nothing to be ashamed of. Sometimes, being able to gently laugh at what your brain is doing is one of the few things that takes the edge off.

Why an Anxiety Shirt Can Help You See the Humour in Life

Living with anxiety isn’t something you simply “fix.” Some days you can manage it well, and other days it feels like your nervous system has its own agenda. Anxiety can look like replaying conversations over and over, zoning out when things become overwhelming, or feeling on edge for no obvious reason.

For me, anxiety often lives in overthinking, or even just feeling butterflies in my chest. It’s analysing everything, second-guessing myself, and struggling to switch my brain off. Other times, it tips into dissociation, that feeling of being slightly disconnected when everything feels like too much. And sometimes, the only thing that helps in those moments is recognising that other people experience this too.

Anxiety T-Shirts, Humour, and Coping

Laughing at anxiety doesn’t mean it isn’t serious. It doesn’t mean you’re avoiding the work or minimising what you’re going through. It simply means you’ve found a way to create a little space between yourself and the spiral.

Humour can help regulate the nervous system. It softens shame, releases tension, and reminds us that we’re not alone in how our minds work. An anxiety t-shirt with a relatable phrase can act as a form of self-compassion, something light, familiar, and grounding on days when your thoughts feel heavy.

For many people, humour is one of the safest coping tools they have. It’s not about denying anxiety, it’s about surviving it, and sharing it to help us feel less alone.

When Anxiety Shows Up in Everyday Thoughts

A lot of anxiety doesn’t fit the stereotypes people expect. It isn’t always panic attacks or visible fear. Sometimes it shows up as thinking too much, mentally checking out, or trying to logic your way through emotions that don’t follow logic at all.

That’s why our mental health t-shirts like the Overthinker, Busy Dissociating, and Girl Math resonate with so many people. They reflect the internal coping mechanisms many of us use, reframing, distraction, humour, just to get through the day. Each shirt connects back to anxiety in its own way, without needing to say the word outright.

An anxiety shirt doesn’t define you. It simply reflects an experience you’re already having.

Wearing an Anxiety Shirt as Self-Compassion

An anxiety t-shirt isn’t a statement piece in the traditional sense. It’s more like a quiet agreement with yourself, my brain can be a lot, and I’m allowed to meet that with kindness.

Some days, coping with anxiety looks like therapy, grounding exercises, and doing the hard internal work. Other days, it looks like putting on a comfortable anxiety shirt that makes you feel seen and getting through the day without judging yourself for how hard it feels.

Both are valid.

If anxiety ever feels overwhelming or unsafe, reaching out for support can make a real difference:
Lifeline (13 11 14), 24/7 crisis support
Beyond Blue (1300 22 4636), mental health support
Blue Knot Foundation (1800 421 468), trauma-informed support

And if humour helps you cope, you can explore our Overthinker, Busy Dissociating, and Girl Math box-fit anxiety t-shirts at Mentally Offline.