1. The first time I had a panic attack around my girlfriend, we were in the so-called Happiest Place on Earth: Disneyland.



2. We’d gone to California, where she’s from, for a ten-day trip over the Thanksgiving holiday — ambitious for a couple just four months into their relationship.



3. This sort of thing happens to me a lot; I have anxiety. And, for better and for worse, my girlfriend does not.



4. When I was single, my anxiety only ruined my life.



5. It kept me off planes and at home, and I disappointed myself, but I got through it alone, unwatched.



6. I realized my anxiety was no longer mine alone — it affects not only me, but Lydia, and us as a couple, too.



7. But the best thing she can do for my anxiety, hands down, is to simply accept it.