Some of the replies on this thread are awful. OP, as somebody who suffers from anxiety and panic disorder, I understand. I have to wear a mask all day at work and at first it was really difficult and I had a few panic attacks but now I’m so used to it I forget I’m wearing it to be honest. Here are a few things I found helpful;
I practised my anxiety breathing exercises at home while wearing a mask
Taking regular sips of water. This allowed me to have a little 10 second breather from the mask to calm down
Steam inhalation with Olbas oil a few times a week. Helps to open the airways and reduce the ‘stuffiness’ you may feel while breathing in the mask. Similarly, chewing gum while wearing the mask helped too
Try different types of mask. I find the surgical ones easiest to breathe in. I have to wear these at work anyway but I wore a fabric mask while I did my grocery shopping once and ended up having a panic attack outside Tesco in the rain 😂
Planning. Always go to the shop with a list and a plan of action. For example, in my local Tesco if I needed apples, pasta, and milk I would get the milk first as it’s the first thing you come across when you walk in, then the pasta as that’s in the next aisle and then the apples. That way you avoid faffing around the supermarket which adds to the stress and anxiety.
Also, rationalising helped a lot as well. My hypothetical worry of wearing a mask was that I wouldn’t be able to breathe and would have a panic attack. So I talked myself through what I would do if that were to happen. I would remove myself from the situation to calm down and try again.
Wearing a mask is important and does make a difference but if it is genuinely affecting you that much then you would be exempt. It’s just up to you whether you continue shopping without one which unfortunately, runs the risk of you being confronted or whether you explore different avenues (neighbours/friends/family shopping for you when they go shopping, click & collect/delivery etc).