Hello, as the title says, I have met a wonderful girl, who is kind, smart, and that I have great chemistry with. For context, I am 23M and she is 19F, we are both in school and we work at the same clinic. We are both interested in healthcare, and we share other similar hobbies such as camping and learning. Things between us actually started off somewhat rocky, as I felt rushed in the beginning by her after our first date, and I explained that pacing for me is important, and that slower would be better. Since that, the communication has been open and equal; however, she told me early on that she has an eating disorder and severe anxiety, which she warned me I will likely see as we continue to date. Well this past weekend, we had a lovely time watching planet earth and cuddling, but in Sunday, her demeanor changed really quickly towards the end, and she told me that Sunday night she always has a lot of anxiety as it is the beginning of the next work/school week. It caught me off guard because how suddenly it shifted, and for context, I have my own mental health struggles, primarily depression and trauma related PTSD from an abusive household, but I spent a good 2 years in therapy and soul searching, and I am in a much better space. I can somewhat relate to the struggles of having a mental illness, but I never personally experienced anxiety to this extent, and I am mainly here seeking advice on how to navigate this.

The main development that occurred recently is that last night we were texting, and things seemed to be going well. We planned to cook dinner together at my apartment today. Then she [texts me this  morning](https://i.imgur.com/Jbvetli.png) that she is feeling physically ill from her anxiety, and that she has to cancel as she doesn't think she can follow through. I know with anxiety that the key is patience, and I couldn't reply more, as I was getting ready for work. My concern is just the stability of it, as I want to continue try and begin a relationship. We've talked about the possibility of being friends instead, which she is okay with from our past discussions. My concern is that being with someone with mental health issues is difficult for me to navigate, as my mother had a serious personality disorder, so emotional stability for me is important, as just innately I will get nauseous and worried that I am about to be hurt when something emotionally abruptly changes when I am intimately involved with someone.

I know on paper, there is only a 3.5 age difference between us, but my personal mental health journey erupted between 19-22, these 3 years of my life were quite literally life altering, as this is when I left my family. Now I know this is my story, and not hers, but my point is that mental health journeys take time. Two concerns I have is that one, she is taking up another class on her schedule, despite her current school/work schedule already causing her frequent panic attacks and from my perspective, a pretty high anxious load. I've talked her for quite sometime about taking up this class, but she is adamant about continuing with it, and now I am worried that her anxiety might worsen as a result. The second thing is that she told me she is worried she might hurt me from her anxiety. I get that it is important to be patient, but if I am understanding this correctly, it seems a little bit like a warning that this may happen. And honestly, with my past of how abusive and traumatic my household was, I think it's probably be best to press the pause button on this relationship thing, maintain a friendship, and just hope that maybe both of us can rekindle something. No matter what I am going to talk to her, as she has been incredibly open and kind about this, but I am always someone that values a second set of eyes, and as I am fairly ignorant to anxiety disorders, any help is greatly appreciated.

My hope would be that we remain friends and share the fun we have with one another platonically, and if at a later point in time we are interested in rekindling something, then try it out then.