Imagine.

You are in a room so dark you cannot make out anything around you. The seemingly black walls are suffocating you, crushing your chest as you strain your eyes to find an escape. Your arms are cold and you shiver, but it’s not from the lack of heat but because you no longer know where you are in this world. You are blind and cannot take a step forward without fear of what is in front of you. You close your eyes and find that it is easier to breath because now you are controlling the darkness, instead of it controlling you.

But you cannot live in this world with your eyes closed, so eventually, you have to open them. And when you open your eyes, you find that the walls have not stopped closing in, in fact, they are inches from your skin. You want to scream, but your throat aches and no sound comes out of your mouth no matter how hard you try. Tears of frustration threaten to spill down your cheeks. You can feel your heart pounding and your blood rushes to your head. You are dizzy. You want to reach out and steady yourself, but you are paralyzed in terror. 

What are you scared of? You are not scared of what has happened, or what is happening in this moment. You are scared of what will happen in the future. You fear what will happen if you try to fight this darkness. You feel this utter inadequacy. And this feeling is sometimes more terrifying than darkness.