In that moment, I believed I was dying.

My chest was collapsing in on itself, trapping any air it could from the very bottom of my lungs. Fire wrapped itself around my heart and squeezed it tightly, my finger tips cool and my legs shaky. Fear manifested itself inside my brain and worked its way around my body, as though it was a parasite.

“Have you eaten today?”

“Do you want some water?”

Too many mundane questions. All I wanted was for it to stop, and if I was going to die, let me die now. My tears burned on my cheeks as they escaped. Every inch of my body was clinging on to itself, trying to comfort me as I was being pushed out of my brain. I had no idea what was going on, I couldn’t stop apologizing and thinking over my last words.

“Have you ever had a panic attack before?”