How many waves have you been pushed under?
Can you count the number of times you have choked on the water that filled your lungs?
It's impossible to remember the amount of times we have felt like we are drowning.
But, now imagine you are drowning.
The forceful crash of the waves over you.
The amount of times you gasped for air.
How heavy your lungs felt as you couldn't breathe.
Your life flashes before your eyes each time your face is buried underwater.
And each time you make your way up to shore, your body aches.
You feel unsafe.
Untrusting.
Now imagine the ocean as anxiety.
The forceful crash of your efforts, smashed around you.
The amount of times you gasped for air.
How heavy your lungs felt as you couldn't breathe.
Your life flashes before your eyes each time you lay down to sleep.
And each time you find a way to get up in the morning, your body aches.
You feel unsafe.
Untrusting.
I know that was an imaginary scenario for you, but not for me.
I am drowning.
My anxieties are the ocean.