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Don’t try to undermine their feelings by saying that there isn’t anything to worry about. It might seem that way to you, but to them it sounds like “Stop being a baby.”

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I’ve begun to believe it myself. Every time I feel my chest get heavy, my hands get sweaty, my vision become disconnected, I tell myself to suck it up: that it’s all in my head. Maybe it is.

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I now understand that our body needs a lot of love in the form of the right food and the right thoughts.

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It would make a huge difference to people like me if more people could recognise an anxiety attack and know how to help.

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When anxiety takes over, you may not know it. You may not know the seriousness of it. You may not know it has taken ahold of you. You may think it’s silly. You might even listen to those people, when they tell you it’s not a big deal. You might even listen to them, when they tell you it will go away on it’s own.

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It’s hard to put into words how someone with anxiety feels. The easiest way I can tell you what we are going through is to tell you to imagine yourself trapped in a cave with no light, food, or water and attempt to survive.

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I know you never lie to me about these incredibly sweet and sincere things you tell me to make me feel less anxious and all the more loved.

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That’s what panic attacks do – have you looking for an escape route when everyone around you seems fine.