Have you ever felt scared or worried for no reason or like everything has to be a certain way? That’s called anxiety. There are three main forms: Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and panic disorder. GAD involves excessive worrying or fear that can last up to 6 months. OCD is when a person has uncontrollable and recurring thoughts, obsessions, and behaviors that he or she feels the urge to repeat over and over again. Panic disorder is when people have recurrent unexpected panic attacks of intense fear that can come on quickly and reach its peak within minutes. Often there is a trigger such as a feared object or situation.

When I have a panic attack, all I want to do is curl up into a ball and cry. Sometimes, I have to act like everything is okay when it isn’t and hide what is really happening. The attacks don’t usually go away in minutes. They can last up to hours at a time and get worse as they progress. With anxiety, I have learned some ways to cope with it by staying away from large amounts of people and taking deep breaths when I feel an attack coming on.