I had an amazing observation yesterday. I'll try to describe it in as much detail as I can.

I saw my female coworker earlier in the day, and she seemed just fine. However, when I arrived at work, as I walked past the staff area, as I glanced in, I noticed her bent over the desk, her forehead in her hands, and her lips squeezed together and contorted. I realized she was crying, and I was so surprised that I walked past the doorway to take a moment to collect myself, since I knew I'd be the one to walk in there and talk to her. A few seconds later, I entered the room.

She was bent over the desk, and what I could see of her face (lips, cheeks, neck) was bright red. Her lips, on which she had a thick coat of bright red lipstick, were bulged and curled. She was mid-silent sob, not breathing. I asked her what was wrong and if she was okay, and pulled a chair up next to her. Within a minute, two other people had joined us (a coworker and our boss, who is really good friends with her outside of work too). She had clearly been attempting to stifle her crying, but when she tried to answer me, she dissolved into absolute hysterics. I haven't seen someone cry this hard in a very long time (except my FI once or twice, but for a friend/acquaintance obs, this was very intense).

She opened her mouth to answer me, still covering her eyes, but when she tried to speak, nothing came out. Suddenly, her upper body pitched forward over the desk, and she was obviously still trying to speak, but instead, a loud moan came out. Her mouth opened into an enormous contorted bulge, and snot and tears were pouring down her face, along with lots of makeup (eye makeup, lipstick, foundation). She could not inhale or exhale; she was suspended over the desk. Finally she managed a loud gasp, followed by about ten seconds of uncontrollable sobs. She was completely unable to control the the sound of them, despite being at work, and they were very loud and sharp. I'm certain that people patronizing our workplace could hear her sobbing; it's not a very big building/room. I had my hand on her back, and our boss was giving her tissues and trying to comfort her. Eventually, she could speak a little, and told us through sobs that a sudden family emergency had occurred and then resolved, but the stress from the hour of uncertainty was coming out through tears. She continued to sob loudly with her mouth hanging open, and suddenly, unbelievably, it intensified even further. She was doubled over the desk now, tears spilling onto the table and some paperwork. Her hands weren't covering her face any longer. Her eyes were squeezed shut, her mouth hung open, and she sat there for about twenty seconds unable to breathe. She gasped loudly, and let out more choking sobs. This continued for about five minutes. She was finally able to calm herself enough to talk to us and then head to the bathroom to wash up (she was covered in makeup and tears).

It was intense, to say the least. She seemed fine about an hour later when she returned, and we went about our day together. I think the stress had just built up to an extreme point and she had an anxiety attack.