This poem is conveniently the product of a panic attack. I wrote it to get my own thoughts out of my head before I drowned in them. These thoughts crashed around my mind until they finally spilled out onto paper. I hope this poem serves as a life line for those of you also often consumed by anxiety. You are not alone, we're in the same boat.

I’m fine, I’m fine, I’m fine

No I’m not, no I’m not, no I’m not

Am I reassuring you? Or myself?

I don’t know

I feel a tsunami coming,

And my throat closes

Wave. Pressure. Panic.

Drowning.

If only I could breathe

Staring at a tsunami,

I’d run away

But what do you do when it’s trapped inside of you?

How do you escape?

Escape ice-cold hands and sweaty palms

Racing thoughts and racing hearts

The ground trembles and so do I

Water crashes over me

My stomach sinks

I need air, I need out

I wish I could run or scream

Swim and stay afloat

But the name of this tsunami is anxiety

And it caught me without a boat