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The familiar smell of lavender hit my nose as I entered the clinic. I breathed in, taking in the pleasant scent that I eventually grew to love. Lavender definitely wasn't a favorite back then but I learned to get used to it.
"Good afternoon Dahlia, did you have an appointment with Ms.Halem today?" Hilda, the receptionist greeted me as I approached the counter.
"Good afternoon, Hilda, and yes I did," I replied with a smile. She hummed and began typing on the computer in front of her, "Ah yes, is it the one o'clock?" I nodded.
"You're a few minutes early, have a seat and she'll call when she's ready for you." I did as told and went to sit down in a chair near the corner of the small waiting area. This chair is my favorite chair to sit in when I come here, I don't know why. I just always sat here, my first time coming here, this was one of the only chairs available so I sat in it and it just stuck.
I shifted in the chair, trying to make myself as comfortable as possible, it's hard in these conditions. They always keep this place extremely cold, so I try my best to dress somewhat warm every time I come here. Today, I was wearing a knit sweater with matching pants along with some uggs. It's not enough to keep me satisfied in this New York weather but I don't have any other plans after this unless I go to Trader Joe's, which I probably will.
"Dahlia Monroe?" One of the employees called out, scanning the rooms but eyes locking on me. There's no one else here who could go by that name, there are only 2 other people in this waiting area, a homeless guy and some elderly man who looked to be in his mid-70s.
"Yep, that's me." I stood up from my chair and followed the lady back to Ms. Halem's office.
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"So how have we been feeling since our last appointment, Dahlia?" Ms. Halem asked, causing me to snap out of the trance I was in.
I cleared my throat, "Oh sorry, um.. I would say I've been alright. You know how this time of year gets." I said with a small chuckle. I wasn't lying, it's not like I've been great. Everything's just alright.
She narrowed her eyes, crossing her legs and propping the notepad upon them. "Hm, would you like to tell me about it?"
"Sure uh, last night when I was organizing my planner for the week, I kept thinking about it and panicked a bit." I looked down at my hands, starting to fiddle with them. When I looked up from them, I made eye contact with Ms. Halem and she gave me a small nod as a signal to continue.
"It wasn't anything major though, I just found myself overwhelmed with everything going on and I didn't handle it well." She nodded and wrote something down on her notepad.
"So you know had a panic attack?" I nodded, "And you know why it happened." She scribbled on her pad. "But how did it feel?" She asked, causing me to tilt my head in confusion. "What do you mean?"
