“Anxiety feels like emotions spilling over the edge of a cup, and me trying to grab them with my hands, but failing miserably."

"A knife going through my heart."

"At times, it looks and feels like the ocean: waves that aren't too aggressive, but are consistently breaking against the shore, creeping up the sand, retreating, and breaking again. It's so overwhelming because it's a cycle that, in nature, never stops — it just sort of lingers there."

"More than anything, it feels like a painful rock in my stomach that makes it hard to eat and sleep."

"I think anxiety, like most things, is useful to a certain degree. It is a huge motivator. But at some point, it switches from pushing you forward to holding you back. The question is, how do you balance on the right side of that very delicate line?"