Personal Narrative: My First Experience With Anxiety

There’s one issue that almost every teenager can relate to; it makes you constantly worried, it can cause your heart to beat out of your chest, and sometimes it can even make you want to just give up and have a meltdown. With hundreds of assignments to write, tests to study for, along with dealing with rude “friends” and just trying to fit in, anxiety can ultimately take over your mind and stay there.

For me, my first experience with anxiety was when I was only 7-years-old. I woke up in the middle of the night, sweating and breathing heavily. You would wonder what would make a young child so distressed, and the truth is, I have no idea why I was. I ran into my parent’s room and I poked at them to help me. They were annoyed because this happened most nights; and it was always for the same reason. I was worried that my agenda and my books would magically disappear from my backpack while it was dark. I would force them to come downstairs with me to check to see if they were still there, and only when I knew for sure that they were still safe in my bag would I go back upstairs and fall asleep.

I would do this everywhere; in the car, before I fell asleep, and every day at school. Whenever my report card came in, every teacher mentioned in the comments that I had trouble concentrating in class. I decided eventually that I would try to write down my stories on actual paper. I would spend hours at my desk writing about whatever came to my imagination. The window would be opened so I could feel he fresh breeze, and I could hear the pitter-patter of the rain. It would calm me; take me to a whole other world where my problems didn't exist. I recently looked back at the first story I had ever written. It was this story about a mermaid being bullied at school. I cringed at each sentence I read; the words I wrote were repetitive and boring, the dialogue was empty and weak. I’d like to think I’ve grown a lot since