A few years ago, I traveled to a nature area in Missouri called Johnson Shut Inns, a park featuring a river, slippery rocks to climb on, and hiking trails. It's beautiful. And just a little dangerous

As I swam and ventured across the boulders, I met a spot that dropped from well below my head to at least a foot or more over my head. I swim regularly, and so I did what I know to do when I get underwater: I put my hands up and out like wings and hoped to come back up.

But the water rushing off the rocks and the current together pushed me down, and it took maybe 30 seconds until I got a grip on a rock to lift myself from the water. In those 30 seconds, I thought, "Am I going to die?" And, of course, I didn't. I caught my breath, pulled myself out, and stopped shaking. That is what anxiety–and especially panic—is like.

Still, in truth, anxiety is no more or less intense than panic—but one is........

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