I think the Stoics would be the first to admit that they weren’t perfect examples of what they were preaching in their texts. We are all fallible, including them. I think that’s important to remember in life. Anxiety is a normal part of being human. When I had my panic attacks and difficulties with anxiety, I thought I was strange. Going to a talk made me realise, what was happening was simply an evolutionary response. Instead of being worried about a predator eating me, I was worried that I was seriously ill or about to die from a heart attack.

The first step for me was understanding why I was getting anxious and from there I was able to improve my wellbeing. I think anxiety has become unfairly stigmatised recently. Everyone wants to be normal, but what is normal? Who defines normality? We all deal with these issues, our ideas of normality is more of an idealised version that doesn’t exist in reality.

The best advice I can give you is to remember that you’re human. You’re infallible. You will mistakes. You will get anxious. And that’s ok. I would try and adopt a mindset that realises you don’t control events, but you do control how you respond. This has helped me a lot and relieved much of my anxiety.