Panic Attack Poem by Angela Wybrow

When I experienced a panic attack,
It shook me to the very core;
I’d experienced worry and anxiety,
But certainly nothing like that before.

I ended up in a really bad state,
As I was unable to face my fears;
I was shaking like a leaf, gasping for breath,
Unable to speak, and in floods of tears.

I had never felt such total panic:
My heart was thudding BOOM BOOM BOOM.
Suddenly the world around me didn’t matter,
As I quickly legged it from the room.

My ‘fight or flight’ response had kicked in,
Leaving my mouth feeling as dry as a bone.
I rushed upstairs to get myself a drink,
Trying to calm myself and feeling so alone.

I’d always worried what people thought of me,
And had always done as I was told,
But, that day, fear got the better of me,
And gripped me in a vice-like hold.

It crossed my mind that I’d get into trouble,
But, for that instant, I really did not care -
As customers and my colleagues alike,
With mouths agape, stood and stared.

It was scary not being in control of myself:
I don’t want to go through another attack.
I found that facing that particular fear again,
Was just way too much for me to hack.

My boss, he thought that I was lying,
And that my issue was not genuine.
So I took the decision to leave my job,
As against the Company, I could not win.