Growing up, I knew I was different. My father had left and he never came back. As I later discovered, the abandonment triggered my anxiety attacks. I feared being alone, unwanted, unpopular and unloved.
My first attack came in a ninth-grade class: the teacher asked me to walk in front of the class, but I couldn’t do it-I was soaked in sweat, shaking. My symptoms began every morning from the moment when I stepped inside the school building.
Throughout my childhood, I was no stranger to the doctor’s office. My mother tried everything she could in hope of a breakthrough. There were times when I thought suicide could be the only way to make the pain stop.
By age 16, I had shut down socially. Most of my peers were going to parties, playing sports, and dating. But I was a prisoner in my own home.
Then one Sunday morning, my wake-up call came from a magazine article. Freddie Prince, Jr., was on the cover. The article detailed the pain of losing his father at a young age. I felt as though I were reading my own life story. The only difference? He was now a success.
That article inspired me to explore a new treatment option for myself. I wanted to turn my life around as well. So I hit the library and the Internet,and I began to realize how my negative thoughts controlled my physical well-being.
Immediately, I made a plan to take charge of my life. Shortly after following the items I had listed, I was able to stop seeing a therapist. I never returned to high school, but I did go to college. After graduation, I pursued a career in television news. My relationships have changed for the better, too. I’ve made new friends and reconnected with many from the past.
The anxiety isn’t completely gone, but whenever it returns, I know the feeling will pass, and know I have the power to change my life, only if I give myself a chance.
【小题1】The writer’s anxiety attacks were mainly caused by _________.| A．the high school which he attended | B．the teacher who asked him to walk |
| C．the writer himself who was fearful | D．his father who left in his childhood |
| A．his mother took him to the doctor | B．he read a magazine article |
| C．his pain finally stopped | D．he went to college |
| A．He went to see therapists. | B．He returned to high school. |
| C．He contacted his old friend. | D．He didn’t suffer any attacks. |
| A．anxiety attacks are not lasting if we have proper treatment |
| B．we shouldn’t keep ourselves away from the outside world |
| C．we can change our lives if we give ourselves a chance |
| D．fathers are not supposed to abandon their small kids |
