Louise, 29, says her first name calms her when social anxiety hits

We all live with a first name. Some are heavy to carry, some are ordinary, some are original, some are a source of pride or even embarrassment. But what is it actually like to wear yours every day?

Louise, a 29-year-old dietitian, has a very particular answer. For her, her name is a place to retreat to when social anxiety makes her wobble.

She puts it simply: there is something reassuring in telling herself that, without doing anything, she attracts sympathy just by being called Louise. In a room full of strangers, or in a moment when she feels unsteady, the name does a bit of the work for her.

It is a small, quiet idea. A first name is something other people say about us before we have said a word. For Louise, that thought is a form of comfort, a way of feeling a little safer around others.