• Lindsay Stetzer
My First Panic Attack Sent Me into an Existential OCD Spiral
I always felt this responsibility to make sure everyone was safe all the time. And I always felt like I had control over that. But when this thought triggered a panic attack—one that left me feeling physically and mentally detached from reality—that certainty disappeared. I felt lost. Suddenly, the idea that a single action or thought could unravel my understanding of what was real became unbearable. The fear paralyzed me. At the time, I didn’t know that what I was experiencing had a name—Existential OCD.
