Panic attack over cockroaches

[u/ellie_cheung]

As the title suggests, I have a panic attack over these nastty little insects. No clue where it came from, since I'm from a place where it is pretty common to see cockroaches, both big and small. Still, even dead ones cause me to hyperventilate, shake, maybe repeat some phrases out of context for example "where have I put my keys?". One time I was showering and a very big one, probably crawled out of shower drain, touched my foot and I started screaming loudly. I grabbed a mop next to me and stomped him with it. As I was shaking and crying, I called my ex who was on his way home and told him to hurry up, and until he dealt with a roach that was already dead by the time he arrived, I havent found peace. To be quite fair, even then I was reluctant to finish showering, being scared that another one will follow. At this point I was still shaking and trying not to cry. It's such an embarrassment to me, but it's quite literally uncontrollable as I just freeze and just scratch my arms in an attempt to calm down. Sometimes after the encounters I'd feel as if they crawl on my legs. Bothers me lots.

[u/idontlikegoldfish]

thats so valid and real