Inside my head,

a storm rages.

A whirlwind of thoughts 

spin in my head 

And I become 

blinded by the 

thick fog of panic. 

 

 

I’m screaming

but no one hears.

My chest is burning

and my throat is

slowly closing,

but no one notices 

because it’s all 

internal. 

 

 

I’m gritting my teeth

and gripping the

flesh of my cheek

and digging my 

nails into my 

soft skin trying 

to break out 

of this mental 

storm that my

brain has created.

 

 

I want to cry 

for help 

but I can’t 

because words don’t come

easy with lungs 

that have had

the air sucked

out. 

 

 

Fear drags

me into a cage 

and leaves with  

the key. 

The feeling consumes

me, although it’s

only a creation 

of my thoughts. 

 

I want 

to escape,

escape from 

this feeling. My

body says, “Run!”

but how can I run 

from something

that is not even

physically 

there? 

 

 

My brain says, “Jump!”

like the only 

way out is down. 

But I’d be 

knocking at

death’s door,

the very thing 

I am trying to avoid. 

 

 

And everything 

around me 

doesn’t matter,

it’s all a blur anyway.

 

 

My mind is 

spiraling 

out of control

and I’m pacing back 

and forth 

back and forth

trying to slow

the rapid beating 

of my heart 

 

 

and my ragged 

breathing and

trying to

extinguish the

searing hot

flame within. 

 

 

Suddenly

it all stops.

The storm dies 

down.

I’m free.

Free from the cage.

It’s time to move 

on with my day.

But how can 

I return to normal 

when it’s not?