So, this is my first post in this sub, and rather minor at that, but to anyone reading this and struggling with anxiety, PLEASE keep a diary or journal and record your feelings. 

For me, it always felt so pointless doing it, that most of the time I'd often skip days or even weeks. But, when I was at my lowest, I'd read my journal. My stories about struggling with not being able to breathe from panic in class; getting stomach aches due to the atmosphere of another class; wanting to cry in school, and the little messages I wrote those days. Little messages about, how it'll get better, how I hope it'll get better, and seeing how vulnerable I was, but I still would push on, not missing a day of school.

It really helped. When I was at a low point as I said earlier, I decided to open up my diary and saw a little message I wrote months back. It was a message to me in the future. It was simple, just said something along the lines of "Hi! Right now, I am not doing so well, but we've been through so much. Whether you, future me reading this, are happy right now, or on the verge of ending it all, just know that I love you and that I'm proud of whatever point we've gotten to. I love you." 

I broke down reading that. I felt tears form in my eyes and just sat there at my desk alone at night hugging my little diary that was my former science notebook. I can't encapsulate how happy I am to have such a golden book with me. I've been writing in it for over 6 months now, and in that period, I tried my best to handle my anxiety. I meditated, downloaded Insight Timer, went on walks, opened up to my friends, and tackled my anxieties about people and feelings, but it always felt so, as if it never added up to anything and I was always at square one. But, reading all my pages, I saw gradual transitions.

I realized that eventually, I stopped writing about panic attacks in class. I wrote about how happy I was to go to school and be able to breathe normally that day. I wrote about how happy I was to feel like I didn't offend everyone around me by just being myself. Eventually, my diary went from anxiety to school stress, to daily accounts of the school, what I did with my friends, and little stories I wrote when I was bored. It amazed me to see how much progress I made in those 6 months of tackling my anxiety, and how all of it was captured exactly the way I felt it at that moment. 

My point with this is that, if you can, please keep a diary. It will do wonders.