The first time a therapist slid a paper across the table and said, “Let’s start with this,” I stared at it like it was a pop quiz I hadn’t studied for. It was the GAD-7 questionnaire. I had no clue what it meant or how answering a few questions could possibly sum up the tangled…
I didn’t realize how much my anxiety was rooted in my childhood until I found myself reacting to adult situations in ways that didn’t make sense. A simple disagreement with a friend? My heart would race. An unexpected call from work? Instant panic. It wasn’t about the moment—it was about something deeper. If you’ve ever…
I used to think I was just dehydrated. Or maybe I’d skipped lunch. But the spinning feeling didn’t go away. The room would tilt a little, my legs felt unsteady, and for a moment I’d wonder if I was about to pass out. Only, I wasn’t sick. It was anxiety. And for a long time,…
It started in the middle of a work meeting. My chest felt tight, like something was sitting on it. My heart was pounding so hard I thought everyone could hear it. My left arm tingled, and I genuinely thought—this is it. I’m having a heart attack. I excused myself, rushed to urgent care, and after…
My first panic attack happened at work. I was typing up a client report when suddenly my heart started pounding. I thought it was just a caffeine overload. But when my vision blurred and I had to lock myself in the bathroom just to breathe, I knew something else was going on. That was the…
I was skeptical the first time someone suggested acupuncture for anxiety relief. Lying still with needles in my skin didn’t sound like a calming experience—it sounded like a setup for more tension. But when nothing else seemed to quiet the restlessness in my chest or the overthinking that hijacked my mornings, I gave it a…
When my anxiety was at its worst, I didn’t expect a handful of spinach or a scoop of pumpkin seeds to make much difference. But there I was, reaching for magnesium-rich foods every day—not because a trendy wellness blog told me to, but because I was desperate for anything that might help me feel a…
I didn’t used to think about my breathing. It just happened—like it does for most people. But when anxiety started creeping into my everyday life, my breath became one of the first things it hijacked. I’d suddenly realize I was holding my breath without noticing, or taking shallow little sips of air like I was…
When I first heard the term “cognitive behavioral therapy,” I thought it sounded way too clinical—like something reserved for textbooks or people with way bigger problems than mine. But after quietly battling years of overthinking, low-level panic, and an exhausting loop of self-doubt, I decided to give it a shot. I didn’t walk into a…