My heart tightens in my chest
Like squeezing out the last bit of toothpaste.

My stomach coils into knots
Like a wet towel being wrung out of ***** water.

My brain bounces around in my head
Like the little ball in a pin ball machine.

Around and around it goes.
Where it stops nobody knows.

Which is precisely my fear.
The fear of the unknown.

Or worse.
The fear that my future is headed towards my imminent failure.

One minute I’m fine.
But then a sudden upset.

I’m not fine.
I’m on the verge of a panic attack.

My palms start to sweat
Like a glass of sweet tea in the Carolina sun.

My hands shake
Like the leaves on the trees during a storm.

My arm hair rises
Like a white flag in wartime.

I cannot control this feeling.
This feeling controls me.

I surrender to you,
*my anxiety.