UK

I told my manager I was having a panic attack instead of pretending I had food poisoning

Dear Delyara, For years, panic attacks became stomach bugs, migraines, train delays—anything more socially acceptable than saying my mind had overwhelmed my body. Treatment helped me recognize attacks earlier and reduce the shame around them. Last month, one began during an important meeting. I stepped outside and told my manager directly, “I’m having a panic attack. I need fifteen minutes.” He said okay. That was it. I used the breathing and grounding techniques I had practiced, returned after twenty minutes, and finished my part of the meeting. Nobody treated me like glass afterward. Mental-health recovery has not stopped every panic attack. It has removed some of the extra work of inventing lies around them. A difficult twenty minutes no longer has to become a fictional illness I then maintain for the rest of the day.