How\'s it going everybody, this is my first time writing a blog of any kind so bare with me if I get wordy.  I\'m 23 years old living just outside Boston, and I\'ve recently graduated from college and started a new career down here.  I\'ve been dealing with "on and off" anxiety for about 3 years now — by "on and off" I mean it seems like every 6 months I have it, then another 6 where I don\'t, etc. etc.  Right now though, it\'s definitely \'on\'… It\'s actually been on for a while now, so I decided it was time to face it head on and go to a therapist and doctor to get treated.  Best decision I ever made, I can\'t imagine going about this alone.

Right now my biggest anxiety issues are going out in public places… I get this crippling fear that someone is going to attack me.  It\'s horrible too, because if I\'m at the grocery store and the slider door opens, I quickly look to size up the person coming in — do they look sketchy?  Are they bigger than me?  Do they maybe want to hurt me?  It\'s really sad, it\'s like I\'m judging these people for absolutely no reason.  It\'s been causing a lot of fear though lately, to the point of some mild anxiety attacks.  I can totally understand now why people who suffer from these types of phobias tend to stick to places they feel safe, because that\'s what I\'m unfortunately doing now.  

Just looking for similiar stories, anybody ever been in the same boat?  Does it get any better?  I\'m trying to stay optimistic, but it\'s definitely tough.  I\'m 23, I want to go out and about and be carefree!  Friggin anxiety… 🙂

Take care everybody and have a good night –

Pat