Lynn, a 33-year-old female pre-med student who enjoys outdoor activities and is currently employed as a secretary

How my symptoms affected me
"It's like [your heart's] in a knot-like someone's taking your heart and squeezing it."

Photo does not depict an actual XANAX XR patient.

"I was always off on one crazy adventure or the next. Taking off to Colorado, or taking off to Europe, or going on a camping thing out in the desert. It wasn't like I was a real protected little sheltered thing.

It was physical pain—your heart feeling like it's about ready to jump out of its chest. And it really hurts. It's like it's in a knot—like someone's taking your heart and squeezing it. Your heart is going crazy. And your fingers would tingle and the tip of your nose would tingle.

You can tell something weird is going on with your body, but you have no idea what. But that's not even the scariest part of what's going on with your body—it's what's going on in your mind. You really feel like you're losing your mind. Like they're going to come take you away—you're going to be in a mental institution for the rest of your life.

People talk—but it's not as if you're really hearing their voice. Everything's different and remote. All you can focus in on is yourself. It's very dramatic. The worst part of it can last only maybe 10 or 15 seconds, but then that fear that it will come back keeps you all stirred up."

When I realized something was wrong
"I was afraid of just about everything."

"I was in college and I was a pre-med major. I was taking about 18 hours in calculus, in physics, and all the really tough ones. There was a lot of stress within my own family. My sister had developed this panic disorder, and all the attention was kind of thrust on to her. And at that point, my dad lost his job, and they were telling me that they weren't going to pay for my college anymore. So I was really living a pretty high-stress life at that time. And that's when they (the attacks) started coming—and wouldn't stop.

They just did not let up. It was every day. I could count on at least one, and sometimes there would be three and four a day. I was afraid to be alone—afraid to take care of children. I was afraid of the rain. I was afraid to drive in the rain. I was afraid of highway overpasses. I was afraid of highways in general, but highway overpasses were worse. I was afraid to be around anybody who had phobias. I was afraid of elevators. I was afraid of not having my family stay in town. I mean, I was afraid of just about everything.

Before? I felt so in control of my life. I had felt like I had a good life. And then to have my dreams of going to medical school shattered. The dreams of who I was going with shattered and the relationships with my family that were so close. I was so close to my sister, and that fell apart. Everything was just falling apart one by one by one. I think that's a large reason why I got so depressed. "

More than just stress
"I knew that it wasn't just stress...something else was going on."

"So finally I went to the doctor, and she said that I was having trouble with my nerves—too much stress—just calm down. But it wasn't working. With the psychologist, we were going over things from my childhood and what was going on in my life. But I knew that it wasn't just stress. I knew something else was going on. But that was the part that was frustrating—you can't get anybody to believe you."

Note: Individual results may vary.

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