Anxiety, an unfortunate roller coaster ride 

"The Riddler Revenge" at Six Flags New England

    I am at an amusement park and I see a roller coaster that I love. With the intention of seizing the moment, I gets in line to buy the ticket. The sun gets hot, so when I finally get my ticket, I am already tired.

    But that doesn't matter, after all I am in an amusement park! So I sit on the wagon of the "Riddler Revenge" ride and set out to have fun. However, all of a sudden, my car does a fast 360º turn, and what would have been fun at first, doesn't look so good anymore. My thoughts thrash around and around and around. I can't stop and the tension is continuous and I feel like my heart will stop at any moment. I go up and down, I go through a dark tunnel several times, I lose control and my stomach is upside down.

    Finally the journey ends. I walk out of there numb with intense fear, unable to think clearly, deeply drained, and feeling like I have been dug up by a bulldozer. Feeling anxious is like riding a roller coaster and the ride is not fun. I know that both the trip and the attack will end sooner or later, I know that I have a peak in height and that from there I can only reduce the intensity.

    However, it feels very bad, it bothers me excessively, and it makes me feel like a storm cloud that strips me of my belongings and even my identity. If at any time you suffer from “anxiety attacks” it is good to keep this metaphor in mind as I have mine. That is, it is very important to remember that, when anxiety appears, it will disappear by itself like smoke through the door which it entered, because it is only a matter of time.

    Time is about knowing yourself, knowing your emotions. This is a way to prepare for this roller coaster of life. Knowing where the loops are, being able to hold on to the descent and taking a deep breath on the way up. It is impossible to stop life. Impossible to always walk in a straight line. What we can do is avoid panic at every turn and who knows, be able to enjoy that delicious butterflies in the stomach.