“I am not my social phobia”

My insecurity is my social anxiety disorder, social phobia. Social phobia greatly affects my daily life. Anytime I have an interaction with someone, I am constantly thinking and worrying about what they are thinking about me, and what judgments they are making. I worry about how I am being perceived, since social phobia is essentially … Read more

“I am not my panic disorder”

I heard the click… click of the handcuffs as she locked them around my wrists and the wooden dining chair I was pushed onto. The smell of her cigarette breath stuck under my nose, carrying her irate words—”useless,” “stupid,” “why did I have children”—down into my throat, choking me along with my sobs. I did … Read more