I can lose an afternoon to preparing for a conversation that takes seven minutes

Dear Delyara, That is one of the least glamorous truths about anxiety. Not panic attacks. Preparation. What might they say, what will I answer, how will I sound, what if I go blank, what if they misunderstand, what if I need to hold a boundary, what if I cry, what if they go quiet. By the time the actual conversation happens, my mind has already held multiple rehearsal performances to an audience of one. Then often the real conversation is ordinary. Short. Manageable. Which should make me feel silly. Mostly it makes me feel stolen from.