It is a beautiful day, mild, the sun is shining, birds are singing, kid’s laughter is to be heard from the nearby playground, butterflies flutter by…
I am enjoying the warm rays of the sun on my face, slowly walking through the park, the kids already running towards the playground, shrieking in excitement, waving hellos to the other kids. I sit down on a bench, coffee in hand, and start rummaging around in my bag. I know, I still had a book in there and this is the perfect opportunity to continue reading it. The kids will be busy for quite a while, any effort to pry them loose from their imaginary adventures will prove to be futile – I am well prepared to spend at least an hour on this park bench…
Another glance at the kids to make sure they are safe and in eye sight, I flip through the pages, trying to find the page where I left off last night. The kids are laughing, running, in their own world. I start reading…
A moment later, the letters on the page start to blur, I can’t make them out anymore. Like a dark fog, a surreal, irrational fear starts to close in, my heart starts beating faster and my breath is short, a heaviness around my chest, closing in, I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe… I am getting dizzy, I can’t really see well anymore, the world seems to be spinning so fast, the sunlight is blinding, every noise alarming. I feel like running, but I can’t move, or breathe, or think. I can’t breathe…
I am so afraid.
But why am I so afraid?
There’s nothing to be afraid of…
I can’t breathe…
I can’t move…
The heaviness on my chest.
My palms sweaty, the book almost gliding through my fingers, I am trembling…
I can’t breathe…
What am I so afraid of…?
I am taking gasps of air, then remind myself to try to breathe calmly. I squeeze my fists, clench them hard, then release, I CAN move.
I CAN breathe…
Slowly, calmly…
I am so goddamn afraid and I don’t know why!
BREATHE!
The fog seems to retreat as I force my breathing to become more regular, still clenching and unclenching my fists.
The bird’s singing and the kid’s laughter breaks through the fog.
BREATHE!
I can breathe…
I can breathe…
I am still alive…
It is over.
There was nothing to be afraid of…
It was just a panic attack. Another one. The third one this week and it is only Tuesday. But I survived it like so many before. Some are harder to get through than others, some last longer, some go by quickly. They are all unexpected, but well feared, without a warning sign, like a bad storm that hits you and then retreats and leaves you with the aftermath.