In early 1994, I met a 27-year-old woman who lived with fear on a daily basis. Her outward appearance was well-groomed, with the exception of her hands being red raw and maceated. She always appeared happy and positive around others, and from the outside looking in, she seemed to have it all together. What I failed to recognize was that deep down inside, she was tormented with persistent impulses, thoughts, and images that dominated her everyday life. As a result, the only way to relieve the fear and anxiety associated with them was to behave in a way that involved doing mental acts or repetitive behaviors to alleviate the anxiety or prevent bad things from occurring.

One of her main fears at that time was contacting AIDS, getting sick, or worse, making someone else sick. Therefore, it was important to spend a significant amount of time washing and re-washing.

Over time, these mental acts and repetitive behaviors started to monopolize her time, and some days she would spend up to four or five hours on them to avoid or minimize contamination fears.

The energy she put forth to make this possible slowly began to wear her down, and her world started closing in. It wasn't long before she started to isolate herself in her own home, where she could control her immediate environment and not have to face the world, with all its fears, unpredictability, and uncertainties.

Finally, on September 15, 1995, a doctor by the name of Dr. Vivian Rowan was able to diagnose her signs and symptoms as Anxiety.

Knowing this woman today, you might be curious to know how she was able to turn her life around to what it is today. Before I go any further, I want to first introduce you to this woman; her name is Sandra Wallace, and the woman I'm referring to is me!

I have started these blogs with the intention to help others living with Anxiety. My desire and passion are to assist others in living a life that matters instead of merely existing.

So please join me for my next blog, where I talk about the faces of Anxiety.