10/17/2026
The World Feels Too Big:
Have you ever walked somewhere,
Scared and full of fear?
The crowds bother you,
The buzzing of fluorescent lights
Is more than you can bear.
You look for an escape route,
Just in case things go south.
What if someone walks in with a gun?
What if panic takes over,
And you need the closest exit
Just to get out?
Your palms get sweaty,
Your face turns pale,
Your chest gets patchy.
And suddenly,
You feel like you might fail.
There’s a feeling of dread
Looming over you,
As if something is wrong,
Even when you’re doing something ordinary,
Like shopping for things you need
Or buying groceries to cook at home.
But it’s not really the store.
It’s the anxiety.
Something triggers it,
And suddenly, you don’t feel free.
It might happen in crowds,
In big stores,
While driving on a highway,
Or down a backroad surrounded by open land.
Or maybe you’re walking down a hallway,
And you start to walk faster,
And faster,
And faster,
Until you’re running.
And people look at you like you’re crazy.
Why would anyone run down a hallway?
But they don’t feel what you feel.
They don’t hear the thoughts inside your head.
They don’t know that you’re just trying
To escape the fear you dread.
Or maybe you’re standing in a big room,
Like a gym,
Where the open space feels overwhelming,
And the lights and sounds get too much again.
You change the way you walk.
You look for somewhere to go.
You try to hide the panic
That nobody else can know.
Because sometimes,
The world feels too big,
Too loud,
Too open,
And too much.
And sometimes,
Even leaving the house
Feels like a battle
You never asked to fight.
That’s me.
I live with agoraphobia,
And I have panic disorder, too.
Things that seem so ordinary to others
Can feel impossible to get through.
You might not see my fear.
You might not understand my fight.
But just because I look okay
Doesn’t mean that I’m alright.
So the next time you see someone rushing,
Or struggling just to stay,
Remember that you don’t know their story,
Or what they’re fighting that day.
Because sometimes,
The hardest battles
Are the ones
Nobody else can see.
Sophia Legens
