I am a long time sufferer of multiple anxieties from stress--and while I don't advocate wallowing in self pity and feeding off of misery, I will say it's unfair to say that Anxiety is fake, especially when a person has no background history, personal experience or education to support such a gross misrepresentation of an illness.

Stress is the #1 killer that has over 150 symptoms, including cancer! So don't fret...that person has no idea what they're talking about and sounds like a person who either spent their whole life avoiding any and everything or they lived a sheltered life.

I'm only 28, and I've had a very traumatizing life. Having an extremely strong resolve and resilience, I spent my life rolling with the punches and not whining about it. It STILL resulted in PTSD, OCD, perfectionist disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and bipolar I.

So it can't be fake if it even happens to folks that doesn't even know it's happening! So it's not your fault and I would suggest you ignore nutjobs like that. Some people are insidious and enjoy torturing people by saying horrible things to them. Good Luck!