The Anxiety Diaries

What will everybody think? Two thousand nineteen was the worst year of my life, and I can't believe I'm sharing this devastating journey with the world. There are moments in life that can make or break us, and that year was mine, shaping me into who I am, for better and worse. I came close to giving up, I made a near-fatal mistake, and I spent too many moments terrified of my own thoughts. When I started this experiment, to write every day, I simply thought I would be recording the mundane life of a mother, wife, and struggling writer. And, yes, I considered the fact that my family and friends and anybody else who read this diary-my diary-would have access to my most intimate fears, hopes, thoughts, and maybe even an embarrassing moment or two. But I never predicted that I would be providing a detailed account of my struggle with my mental health. I had no idea the anxiety that only ever played a minor role in my life would make its debut as the staring antagonist. Or the obsessive thoughts and irrational fears that were always real to me would be given new life on its pages. But as nightmarish as that ordeal was, allowing readers to have a piece of my soul is even more frightening. Publishing my diary may be the bravest thing I've ever done. This is my story. I have no regrets.