I remember feeling anxiety for the first time at ten years old. It was the summer before going into fifth grade. I remember one night, I got this sudden stomach pain that made me feel as if I was going to throw up. Anyone who knows me knows this is my biggest fear, so it terrified me. Over the next two weeks, I remember constantly having this stomach pain and being sick to the point of not even being able to eat food. My parents took me to the doctor, but they could not figure out what was going on with me.
Finally, the week after, on the first day of fifth grade, everything weirdly felt fine. By the end of the day, the stomach pain I had been feeling for a few weeks had vanished. Years later, I had finally put together why this happened.
This was the first instance of me experiencing anxiety.
Moving forward, I started having this feeling of anxiety more often. This typically occurred before an upcoming exam or before I had to speak in public. This feeling of stomach pain would not go away until after the event was over. However, because it never got to the point of becoming an everyday issue, I just went on with my life. That was until this summer.
Beginning this summer, anxiety filled my life. Anxiety centered around every single daily activity in my life. It was the weirdest feeling ever because I had never struggled with it severely before like this. Whether it was going to work or just driving in my car, anxiety crept with me everywhere. It got to the point where I came home crying one day after going to visit my boyfriend at the time, who lived an hour from me. The entire car ride home, I had this anxiety that kept me on edge. Coming home in tears and trying to explain to my dad that I have this constant anxiety around daily tasks was incredibly difficult. I have always struggled with asking for help as well as trying to explain to people how I feel. Because of this, having to do both of those at the same time was a battle with myself.
My dad convinced me to make an appointment with my doctor before I went back to school in the fall. I met with my doctor and explained to him that I now had recurring anxiety about doing simple daily activities that I never struggled with before. He asked me if I wanted to go on medication for it, and I said yes. I made this choice because I did not want to come back to school in the fall and let my anxiety hold me back from the life I want to live.
Over the last month, I have been on Prozac, an anxiety medication. My body is still getting used to the medication and the dose the doctor gave me. I am still waiting to see how this works out for me over the next couple of months. Even though I may not have a definite answer yet, I am proud of myself for realizing that my anxiety was starting to overtake my life. This realization was a tough one, but it was a step in the right direction for me, and that is what matters.