The throb of my heartbeat is heavy behind my eyes. I blink slowly to slow the vibration. I am crying.

I swallow thickly to quell the rising scream building at the base of my throat. It hurts.

My stomach lurches and knots. I am frozen, unable to move for fear of my heart will explode. I am drowning.

I am alone. The full weight of life holding me down. Struggling to breathe and unable to focus, I rub my face and pull on my hair, rooting myself in reality and momentarily preventing a descent into madness.

I don’t know where to go from here.