Taking Me Seriously

My first claustrophobia experience happened a little more than 5 years ago. Long story short, I freaked out in an MRI machine. About a week later, I had a successful MRI. What helped was realizing that the MRI machine was actually open on the other end. I was able to get through the procedure by focusing on feeling the air and thinking thoughts like, "you need to do this for your health." The MRI showed I had a number of problems with my discs in my lower back. (That's a story for another article.) Something... maybe this MRI experience?... had tipped my anxious thoughts from the unconscious part of my brain, into the conscious part of my brain, making me feel like certain activities felt unsafe, where before they had not. That makes it sound like it was a clean 'before and after' change, but it was not like that at all. I think it was some kind of culmination, like a pitcher filling up with anxieties over time, and then spilling over. It truly surprised me, thoug...