Sometimes it feels like a stick is squeezed between my collarbones, firm but gently, and a dull ache spreads all over my upper chest and throat. It can happen at any time and place, often when I am alone, though it occurs around other people as well. It feels like I am crackling from the inside, my breathing gets weaker, all of my muscles stiffens, my stomach turns and a chronic weariness rolls along. All I want to do is to crawl under my bed cover and pretend that a new ice age has arrived.