Sunday supermarket. Halfway down aisle four my chest went tight for no reason I can name. Hands sweaty on the cart. Heart doing that thing. I left — full cart, walked out, sat in the car until my breathing matched the wipers. Not my worst day. Still embarrassing that groceries ca...
Mental Health
Anxiety
Racing thoughts, tight chest, canceling plans again — anxiety is exhausting even when you “look fine.” Share coping strategies, bad days, and small victories.
26 members
21 posts
Do I have anxiety. The quizzes wanted a score. I had a Thursday that still had to look finished
Do I have anxiety sat in the search like a dare. The quizzes wanted a score. I had a Thursday that still had to look finished, and a maybe that would not become a sentence. I did not take the quiz. This is not aisle four and a cart I left. I had a kitchen light still on and a wor...
Canceling plans due to anxiety. The invite was still on the calendar. I sat with the hour
The invite was still on the calendar. I sent the cancel. Then I sat with the hour I had just erased. This is not a bathroom floor and a Tuesday that already has a gut name. This is not a cart abandoned in aisle four. The plans never left the phone. The hour did. Did canceling arr...
Racing thoughts. The tabs would not close. It was still daytime
The document was already open. The tabs would not close. It was still daytime. This is not 3:12 a.m. and a switch someone flipped. This is not an email I already sent. A sentence I was supposed to finish kept losing its place to a stack that had no tab to click. Did racing though...
Panic attack at work. They were still talking. I found the stairwell
They were still talking. I found the stairwell. The badge still had to go back in. Not a supermarket aisle. Not heat in a client meeting. Not a gut flare I stood up from still at the table. The meeting did not move. I came back with a face that had to look finished, and an embarr...
Social anxiety. The eyes would not stay. The cup was safer
The other person was talking. My eyes went to the cup, the wall, the join in the table. This is not a cart in aisle four. This is not a quiz that wanted shy or not. The sentence was still coming toward me. The face was the part I could not hold. Did social anxiety arrive as eyes...
Anxiety for no reason. The calendar was empty. The body started anyway
The calendar was empty. Nothing to point at. The body started anyway. This is not aisle four. This is not a light that would not let my hands go. There was no errand and no intersection. I had an ordinary morning and a size that arrived without a name on the day. Did anxiety arri...
Anxiety vs panic attack. The clipboard had the other word first. Then they swapped
The clipboard had the other word first. Panic. A later sentence took it off and left anxiety. I did not get a table. I did not get a quiz. I got two names in one room, and a wait while they decided which one would stay. This is not a stairwell I already had a word for. Did a room...
Anxiety chest tightness. The mug was ordinary. There was no aisle
The mug was ordinary. The tightness sat there. No aisle. No cart. No search that could become a verdict. I did not open a heart tab. I had a kitchen and a chest that would not become a sentence from a comments section. Did tightness arrive without a store — for anyone else — whil...
Social anxiety vs shyness. They used shy. The meeting still had a size
They used shy. The meeting still had a size. I did not get a test. I got a leftover word that was supposed to finish the sentence, and an appointment that did not get smaller. This is not a cup I stared at while someone talked. This is a name they hung that did not match the hour...
Social anxiety at work. My name was on the agenda. The turn to speak was the appointment
My name was on the agenda. The turn to speak was the appointment. Not a stairwell. Not a cup. They were not having a panic with a name. They were waiting for my item. I sat with a round table and a sentence that had to come out of a face I could not hold yet. Did social anxiety a...
Panic attack at night. The dark had a name. I sat on the edge of the bed
The dark had a name. I sat on the edge of the bed. They stayed asleep. This is not 3:12 and a switch someone flipped. This is not a sheet stuck then cold. I had a panic that would not wait for morning, and a clock that still thought the night was available. Did a panic attack arr...
Anxiety in the morning. I woke and it was already in the kitchen
I woke and it was already in the kitchen. The kettle had not boiled. This is not 3:12 leftover into tomorrow. This is not a light that would not let my hands go. The day had not started. The body had. I stood there with an unstarted kettle and a size that had beaten the clock. Di...
Anxiety vs stress. The clipboard said stress. Work. Then they left anxiety
The clipboard said stress. Work. A later sentence left anxiety. I did not get a table. I got a word that was supposed to make it ordinary, as if a deadline could finish the sentence. This is not a panic they swapped in the same visit. This is stress used like a door, and a name t...
GAD symptoms. They had used worry for years. Then the leftover letters were GAD
They had used worry for years. Then GAD sat there like leftover letters, as if three initials were what remained when worry had been used up. I did not get a criteria table. I had a stack of ordinary sentences and a name that arrived as an absence of a better one. Did GAD arrive...