As a little girl, around 3 or 4 years old, I finally caught the chickenpox – the last one in preschool to do so. It was a moment of odd joy. I vividly remember shouting, “Hooray, I got chickenpox!” It felt like a strange victory, having felt left out when everyone else had already experienced it.

Fast forward to last night, and I found myself in a similar situation. No, it wasn’t chickenpox this time, but an unexpected visit from anxiety at 2:34 AM. A peculiar sensation, unlike anything I had ever felt before, hinted that something had arrived.

Identifying it took a few minutes – anxiety. I had been around people dealing with anxiety, coached some through it, and recently celebrated a client’s success in overcoming her own struggles. Now, here I was, well-versed in anxiety coaching strategies, presented with the chance to firsthand experience what many face daily.

I didn’t shout out loud, “Hooray! I have anxiety!” but the feeling was there, creating a sense of camaraderie. While I won’t delve into the details of what I did last night – not to make this post too lengthy – stay tuned for my upcoming posts where I’ll share my emergency anxiety guidelines and aftermath recovery. To be continued…