Anxiety is crippling and people who haven't experienced it don't understand because they can only compare it the "normal worrying."

You are not a pussy and don't let anyone make you think that. If there is something that affects how you function day to day, that is definitely not something that is to be thought of as small. You are not weak. In fact, you are strong because you've experienced something horrible and you're here to talk about it and help others, even if it's just to say "I understand and I know how you're feeling." aka... YOU'RE NOT ALONE!!

It might not make sense but I promise things will get better eventually. Find something that makes you feel content, even if only for a moment, and hold onto to it. For me, it was music. I went to college for music and that meant I had to perform in front of people, and that meant having frequent panic attacks in front of people. It was a horrible experience at the time, but I made it through and I came out stronger than before. I kept putting myself in situations where I knew I would have a panic attack, and eventually it got better. (I think this is similar to exposure therapy? although I didn't have a psychiatrist).

I know for me, I created the anxiety in my head. There are obviously the physiological symptoms (racing heart, sweaty palms, light head, you know these), but I know that I created them by thinking "oh shit, I'm back in a situation where I had a panic attack before and it's going to happen again." I did take medication, which kind of helped (at least with the performance anxiety), but I think what helped me most was figuring out my triggers and how to deal with them. I also read a lot of self-help books and frequently focused on positive-thinking as opposed to negative-thinking.

You are not broken. You are temporarily out of order, and things will get better. I still have anxiety, but what once shut me down and made me feel like my entire world collapsing, is now more of temporary trip up that I have learned to ignore and let pass.

Nature, exercising, reading/educating myself also helped because it made me feel more confident. Just some things to think about.

This quote kept me going during rough times: "Remember how far you’ve come, not just how far you have to go. You are not where you want to be, but neither are you where you used to be."