Personal Narrative: My First Experience With Anxiety

My heart is pounding out of my chest. “Oh, no, please not now!” I start sweating and feel very claustrophobic. I look around and nothing out of the ordinary is happening but there is something very wrong. “Why is this happening?” I try taking deep breaths. Inhale for three seconds, hold, then exhale slowly. It’s official. I am in the middle of a full fledged panic attack.
To say that a person would be lucky never having experienced this, would be an understatement. The first time it happened to me, I was terrified. I thought there was something physically wrong with me and then that fear is compounded by the anxiety that there actually is something wrong. A vicious cycle to say the least. It comes on suddenly, usually without warning and is extremely inconvenient. Anxiety doesn’t care what you are doing and likes to sneak attack. It can be crippling to even the most physically strong person.
Anxiety is often associated with a negative connotation and stigma so you may be asking yourself, why is she admitting this? The answer is because I am not afraid. There is a …show more content…
I was in fourth grade and wasn’t feeling well. I was evaluated by physicians and even sent to an Endocrinologist. After many tests, including my ultimate favorite, the drawing of the blood, they finally considered that I had contracted a virus. This virus caused me six months of feeling anxious, to the point where I did not want to leave the comfort of my own house other than to go to school. It was hard to describe at that time, but I just kept trying to keep calm. It helped talking to my parents and it really helped talking to my older sister. She was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and as a result was struggling herself with panic attacks and anxiety. Luckily, her cancer was found early and she now has a very good prognosis. I watched her struggle though, slowly withdrawing herself from everything she once