To focus on anxiety is not typically people want to do. To focus on anxiety is not typically advised to people who want to overcome anxiety. Of course, to successfully overcome anxiety and find inner peace, it’s wise to focus on anything but anxiety. Ignoring anxiety — paying attention to what anxiety isn’t – is a powerful way to train the brain to think about other things. However, there are times when it’s actually helpful to focus on your anxiety; seriously. Keep reading
Anxiety lies to mask reality, but there are certain truths about you and anxiety that show that you are stronger than your anxiety. That you are stronger than your anxiety is actually another truth. In the last post, I exposed 12 lies anxiety tells you. The following 12 truths counter those lies. Read them. Ponder them. Believe the truths about you and anxiety. Keep reading
Anxiety lies to you. It tells you lies in order to bully you and control you. A common complaint among people living with one or more anxiety disorders is that they can’t get the racing thoughts of anxiety out of their head. A reason for this is that anxiety, seemingly without stopping, feeds lies directly into your brain. When we’re told something over and over and over again, we start to believe it. By telling you certain lies, anxiety strengthens itself so it can keep a hold on you and your life. See if you recognize any of these 12 common lies anxiety tells. Keep reading
Reading helps me cope with my anxiety. Books have long provided a much longed for escape for me during my most anxious times. It has always been a great relief to think that in the space of a few moments, I could be coping with anxiety by reading. Reading lets me inhabit the thought processes of another person when the sheer, everyday business of living with anxiety and depression becomes all-consuming. When communicating adequately in real life feels like an impossible pursuit, I have found that reading allows me to find the right words for the feelings that all too often I bury deep inside. Reading helps me cope with anxiety in many other ways, too.
Anxiety disorders can seem to shut people down, bound by too much worry and frozen in fear. “Fake it ’til you make it,” is a piece of friendly(ish) advice meant to motivate and encourage. At its essence, “fake it ’til you make it” assures people that they don’t have to feel confident in order to move forward. “Fake it ’til you make it” says it’s possible to get up and go no matter what. Is there truth in this, especially when it comes to anxiety disorders? Keep reading
A very effective way to reduce anxiety is to do more of what works in your life. However, any type of anxiety disorder can seem to completely take over someone’s entire being, his/her very life. Anxiety can consume our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors, making us feel trapped, isolated, agitated, worried, and afraid. When living with an anxiety disorder, it can be hard to see past all of the struggles and all of the things that aren’t working in life. It’s possible to get around that, and in the process, significantly reduce anxiety. To reduce anxiety, do more of what works. Keep reading
Anxiety and depression, while different, often occur together (Relationship Between Depression And Anxiety). It has been estimated that half of all adults who have been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder or major depression also experience the other.1 This double whammy is especially challenging—and annoying, to under-exaggerate. Why is it that anxiety and depression can occur together? Researchers are hard at work investigating this very question. The answer is a work in progress, but these four reasons help explain why anxiety and depression often occur together. Keep reading
Try as we might, we humans never quite get over the desire to be liked and sometimes with anxiety, we feel unlikeable (Anxiety Says Everyone Hates Me). Being considered to be socially acceptable holds great importance for us whether we are starting a new job or joining in a game of hide and seek in the playground. The need to be liked can, in many instances, override the, arguably, more fulfilling need to shape yourself as an individual. I would argue that having an anxiety disorder complicates this desire even more. Speaking as a person with an anxiety disorder, I tend to meet a person for the first time with the overwhelmingly glum presumption that they will either instantly dislike me or, best case scenario, will inevitably grow to dislike me over time. With anxiety, I feel unlikeable.
Anxiety is a burden that involves excessive worry and fear. When we live with anxiety and its worry and fear, we give up things in life that were once joyful. It’s not that we want to give up what we love; instead, anxiety is so all-consuming that it’s heavy and burdensome. Anxiety is hard to carry. The following simple short story illustrates just how burdensome anxiety, worry, and fear can be. It can also be a tool to help children cope with fear and anxiety. Keep reading
Can anxiety disorders come from a traumatic brain injury? Anxiety disorders can be challenging, and it’s natural to want to know what causes them. Anxiety disorders, like all mental illnesses, are disorders of the brain. The brain is an organ of the body, and it can experience disease and/or injury just like any other organ. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) can cause serious damage inside the brain. Depending on what part of the brain is damaged, TBI can lead to mental illness. Anxiety disorders can, indeed, come from a brain injury. Keep reading