Despite being alone, I feel crowded as if there’s not enough space.

The walls press in, threatening to trap me in a prison of my thoughts.

Time crawls slowly through each new day, but my mind races toward a finish line that doesn’t exist.

They say “chill out,” but I’m tired of a living in a world that’s so cold.

They tell me, “you just need to breathe,” but in my mind, I’ve already run out of air and feel like I might drown at any moment.

On the inside, an endless war rages, assaulting me with wave after wave of reminders that I’m the prey and my fears are the predator in an unrelenting game of cat and mouse.

My doctor calls it anxiety.

I call it an invasion.