panic attacks

For over five years, I endured these attacks. A therapist identified the source of this physical and mental torment: anxiety.

In what’s been the most difficult year of my life, animal companionship has been as essential to my mental wellbeing as the time spent with my family.

I have sought out solitude my entire life — up until pretty recently, it was a hard thing to come by. 

Seasonal Affective Disorder, a common mood disorder that was first described by Dr. Norman Rosenthal in 1984, is mostly discussed in terms of how it affects people in winter.
When I found out about summer SAD a few years ago through some online sleuthing, I felt relieved. I finally knew what was going on with me.

Perhaps more than other cultures, America is obsessed with the illusion that if we prepare, we can avoid. Instead of learning to be resilient and cope with hardship, we drive ourselves dangerously close to madness trying to come up with ways to prevent catastrophes.

After the breathless panting of my previous panic attack had converted over time to lust, I found myself with my new love having sex in the shower. Bent over the rim of the claw-foot bathtub, I felt the past being replaced with the new joys of the present.

What do you do when you have no choice on how you get to work?