Write a story about a character experiencing anxiety.

Posted in Character on Oct 26, 2022

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✍️ 83 stories

“Devin Spuddleton” by Ben Elliott

Submitted to Contest #20

Devin Spuddleton was born under very strange circumstances indeed. Unlike you or I, Devin did not have fingers. Nor did he have hands, feet, or even a head. Devin was made of potatoes. He was special.Every night he would lay in his makeshift bed of leaves and his mind would be consumed by somewhat spuddy thoughts, yet tonight was different. Swimming around his mind, thoughts of school attacked what remained of his sanity. The other children were going to laugh at him. They would mock his battered, bruised, and yellow skin. They would laugh a...

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“Phone call ” by Aishee Bachhar

Submitted to Contest #20

It was 6am when the alarm went off. Judy woke up with a severe backache. She was having a lot of difficulty to rise and shut the alarm that blared on a table on the other side of the room.Judy lived alone in a studio apartment so she took her time to get out of bed. She needn't worry about waking someone in her apartment. But she was afraid; she didn't want to wake her neighbours.While freeing herself from the blanket Judy complained," Fall has not yet arrived and my back already hurts like hell."After a lot of effort she was finally out of ...

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“Leniyah, Wellklike, and AK-47s” by Jayden Mendez

Submitted to Contest #20

Clunk. The first step into my new school. Clunk. The second step into my new school. Clunk. The third step into my new school. My steps echo all around me, filling the vast area the principal had called the "Gathering Space." I suck in a deep breath, relishing the way the cool air collects on my lip. The Gathering Space is enormous. It splits into a dozen hallways, and each twist and turn in multiple directions. I am amazingly, utterly lost.Despite the tour the principal gave me the other day, my brain was so lost trying to size up the place...

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“Too Many Pineapples” by Rachel Frankki

Submitted to Contest #20

You think it can’t get any worse? This consistent feeling of anxiety that harbors your soul? I’m just standing in the produce section of my local grocery store; and all I can think about the difficulty of choosing the right pineapple for my mom’s fruit salad. I mean, she’s the one making this damn salad, why did she have to wake me up from my nap just so I could go buy it? I never buy fruit, what if I get one that’s not ripe yet but then it gets forgotten about and becomes moldy? Or one that’s too moldy and my mom shuns me? It’s like my memb...

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“Homecoming Obligations” by Susan Sargent

Submitted to Contest #20

The ride to the palace was quiet. T’Vall was never one to make smalltalk on their many travels together, and Ziyell wished it had been one of the others sent to bring her to Keston. She was pleased, however, to have her own horse in the stables, it made the trip so much easier. She shared a unique bond with the mare, something few people understood, even among the Chosen. Her grandmother had been Tjimira, animal communicator, and Ziyell had always assumed that she had inherited at least part of that. At least they would have a fire when they...

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“LAST STAND” by David D'EttoreUser

Submitted to Contest #20

LAST STAND I hear the muffled groans coming from Lt. Alvarez. The medic assigned to us as we advance toward enemy lines is working feverishly to stop the bleeding to make the lieutenant stable enough to transport. “Doesn’t look good, Doc,” I say with one eye on the horizon. “I’ve got to get him back to MASH pronto or your...

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“The Lullaby” by Ovie Soman

Submitted to Contest #20

Tick. Tick. Tick.I time my breathing to the ticking of the wall-clock. Or at least, I try to. The therapist said it would help, especially with all the breathlessness. But I fail. Repeatedly. My heart doesn’t slow down. The dread doesn’t stop flowing, ice-cold through my veins.Tick. Tick. Tick.He is coming. I know it. He is out there somewhere, steadily making his way toward me. Dodging the cedar trees. Careful not to lose footing in the snow. He is coming. And I am powerless. I sit up in bed, desperate to protect myself. To do something bef...

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“Library of Lost Memories” by George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

Submitted to Contest #20

The Library of Lost MemoriesMy life seems to be a series of lost memories, because the events in my past life are so forgettable. I don’t mean to be a whiner or someone who always sees the glass as half full, it’s just that the difference between a happy outcome and a melancholy one rests on a fulcrum that always seems to be weighted against me. I know, I’m a cry-baby with a poor-me complex. Been to a lot of therapists who would agree with the prognosis. Anyway to get to the strange events of the past week, I guess I’d better s...

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“Alison Park” by Mike Garrigan

Submitted to Contest #20

A dolphin swam along side the Arcturus. He peeked his left eye up at Sara, winked, and then flipped away into the brine. “Did you see that, Ollie?” Sara said. Oliver stood erect with his hands behind his back. The bow of the Arcturus was three feet wide. Oliver stood in the bow, feet shoulder width apart, and stared at Waiheke Island in the distance. “Ollie, did you see the dolphin?” Sara said.“Yes. They are quite magnificent,” Oliver said over the crashing water. His voice cut through the surf, salt, and sea. The sides o...

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“Numbers” by Madeleine B

Submitted to Contest #20

Threes. I count my steps in threes as though I’m waltzing through the halls. I tap in threes, think in threes. On particularly bad days, I speak in threes. There are two-hundred ninety-three lockers in the band room and instrument storage room, not including those used by orchestra students. Two-hundred seventy-one marbles in my collection. I know because I counted them. Three times. And then I spent hours covering every inch of my arm in the...

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“The Anatomy of a Worrier” by Debbie Rae

Submitted to Contest #20

The teacher’s left strap was crooked.Peter’s eyes were fixed on the anomaly. It was off her shoulder. He didn’t fancy himself an expert in women’s clothing, but he had seen his fair share of off-shoulder sleeves. When they were intended to be asymmetrical, they had an acceptable weirdness to them, like a synthetic diamond – fake, but good enough for a child’s tiara, so not entirely useless. It was different when they were unintentionally lopsided. With Miss Jones’s every movement, the sagging sleeve twisted, with such growing persistence tha...

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“My Daily Normal” by Savannah Berry

Submitted to Contest #20

You know that random feeling of panic you get thinking you forgot to turn off the stove or lock the front door? Most people brush it off using logic. You have never done it before and you do use these things every single day. Why would this time be any different? You promptly turn back to whatever you were doing before. No big deal, it was just a small bout of illogical thought. Well, this illogical thought is my natural state of being.I have anxiety. The textbook definition would be the body’s natural response to stress....

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“The Wings that Whisper” by Val Reid

Submitted to Contest #20

It followed him wherever he went. The sound of it constantly touching his ears. Like a mosquito on a hot summer night that won’t let you sleep. Except bigger. He knew it wasn’t there. But it hated that he knew, and it followed him. Stepping on his heels when he walked. Snagging the elbow of his sweatshirt, making an invisible itch he had to swat at like a bug bite that would go away as soon as you thought about it. It had been too long since he slept without it’s voice telling him lies and pain that stirred him. Kept him awake and made him s...

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“Dawn and Persephone” by Taylor Crosby

Submitted to Contest #20

Chapter 1: Dawn I’m standing on the edge of a cliff. I’m surrounded by strange, humanoid creatures with faces devoid of eyes and noses. But they still have their mouths. And those mouths are moving as the creatures are laughing, laughing at me. “Stop it!” I scream, or at least try to. All that come out are pathetic whimpers. One steps forward and t...

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“Frozen by Dread by Caroline Savard” by Caroline Savard

Submitted to Contest #20

DECEMBER 17 2019Reedsy ContestShe searched desperately for the third time in her purse, but once again to no avail. Come on, Lexy, would you get it together she grumbled to herself. Coming out of the bathroom stall, she lay her purse on the counter, opting for her lipstick instead, in hopes of shaking it off. As she was trembling, trying not to make a clown of her face, she is startled by a ding from her cell. Shit! Lexy throws her lipstick back in her bag and leans over the sink. She is relieved to have the lady's room all to hers...

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Write a story about a character experiencing anxiety.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 83 stories

“Devin Spuddleton” by Ben Elliott

“Phone call ” by Aishee Bachhar

“Leniyah, Wellklike, and AK-47s” by Jayden Mendez

“Too Many Pineapples” by Rachel Frankki

“Homecoming Obligations” by Susan Sargent

“LAST STAND” by David D'EttoreUser

“The Lullaby” by Ovie Soman

“Library of Lost Memories” by George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

“Alison Park” by Mike Garrigan

“Numbers” by Madeleine B

“The Anatomy of a Worrier” by Debbie Rae

“My Daily Normal” by Savannah Berry

“The Wings that Whisper” by Val Reid

“Dawn and Persephone” by Taylor Crosby

“Frozen by Dread by Caroline Savard” by Caroline Savard

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story about a character who starts out as a pessimist and ends as an optimist. (Or vice versa.)

Write a story about a character who would be described above all else as "logical."

Write a story about a day in the life of a mother.

Write a story about a character experiencing independence for the first time.

Contest #20

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

274

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: