It me.
My name is Amanda Stern, and I am a writer and the author of 13 books: The Long Haul (a novel), Little Panic: Dispatches From an Anxious Life (a memoir), and eleven books for children written under pseudonyms. (Adam Sandler turned one of them into a movie for Netflix! It's very exciting.)
Before I had language, I had panic attacks.
For the first 25 years of my life, I had panic attacks nearly every day, but I did not know what they were. No one else seemed to worry they were about to die or be murdered, not how I did, and I hid my mental anguish as best I could from my friends.
No one at home knew what was wrong with me, either. I was tested repeatedly; I took one IQ test after another, but no one ever ventured near my emotions. No one communicated with me or gave me a diagnosis. I assumed, naturally, that I was broken and unfixable. I went 25 years not knowing I had a treatable condition called Panic Disorder.
This newsletter is dedicated to everyone who has ever needlessly suffered and is needlessly suffering right now and to those interested in psychology and mental health. If you are driven to understand yourself and grow, this is the right newsletter for you.
While I am a mental health advocate, I am not a therapist or a trained clinician. I do not diagnose or give professional advice. My work is based on my interest, research, and personal experience.
