My body decides something is wrong before reality does

Dear Delyara, I don’t know how to explain anxiety to people who think it is only about thoughts. For me, it often starts in the body. A rush. A tightness. An alarm with no visible source. Then my mind rushes in afterward and starts trying to explain it. Maybe someone is upset. Maybe I forgot something. Maybe I’m about to fail. Maybe I’ve missed a sign. Maybe I’m unsafe in a way I haven’t identified yet. The feeling arrives first. The story follows. That’s what makes it exhausting. I don’t get to choose whether the alarm sounds. I only get to manage the fallout.