Wanting to hide from anxiety is a normal reaction. It's hard-wired into us as the fleeing part of the fight-or-flight response. It's a self-protective response that kicks in in the face of anxiety-provoking triggers. The problem is that its use is limited. While it might protect us from danger or even discomfort in a particular situation, if hiding from anxiety is our main way of dealing with it, we severely limit our lives. It's hard to override this impulse, though, especially if you've been doing it for a long time. To help you emerge from hiding and embrace your life, here are four ways to stop hiding from anxiety.

Though the Internet has the potential to become a boon for those suffering from mental illnesses like anxiety (in the form of websites like this, for instance), unfortunately, some in power are using the Internet to financially exploit those who are most vulnerable. Therapy has become a victim to what’s referred to as “the gig economy,” and any right-minded advocate for mental health owes it to themselves to fight against this at any cost.

I have up close and personal as well as professional information about anxiety and chronic health conditions. Over the past year, I've been diagnosed with a whopping nine chronic health conditions, many of them autoimmune and most of them digestive in nature. They're all permanent, but I'm grateful that they're all manageable. I'm also happy that I am happy and well. Healthy anxiety is part of this subjective sense of wellness. I'd like to share with you four tips that I use to keep my anxiety low despite these chronic health conditions.

Ever since my apartment fire at the end of January, I’ve been working with my insurance to get adequate recompense for everything I’ve lost. While I’ve had a mostly good experience, it seems that nobody is spared from at least one insurance horror story, and about a week ago I got mine.

So much is uncertain and anxiety-provoking right now, but one thing is certain: kids experience anxiety during this COVID-19 pandemic, too. Not knowing how to help your kids with anxiety can be frustrating, and right now, when you might be dealing with anxiety of your own about the ever-changing COVID-19 scare, wondering how to deal with anxious kids can be challenging. Happily, there are ways you can help your kids deal with their anxiety and increase the mental health and wellbeing of everyone in your household in the process. Here are some insights from my own experience as a parent and former high school teacher and counselor. I can help you help your kids who have anxiety from COVID-19.

This post explains how the coronavirus is impacting my anxiety. I’m sure most of you (and you can include me in this group) are sick and tired of reading about this, and would rather focus on something else. Yet here we are, so I’ll at least do you the courtesy of being brief. Basically, I’m discussing how this coronavirus thing we’re all going through is impacting my anxiety.

Anxious thoughts can be overwhelming, crushing, and exhausting. Cognitive behavioral therapy and other similar therapies teach that anxious thoughts are frequently more problematic than an actual anxiety-provoking situation. Problems do exist--we aren't making them up--but what causes us great stress and anxiety is how we think about the problem.

Coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID 2019) crept into our world insidiously, and initially, global anxiety blipped but didn't skyrocket. Recently, amidst reports on traditional and social media--some factual and some fear-based, speculative rumor-- anxiety and panic have surged. Imagine what your life in this moment would be like if you could reduce your anxiety right now. While I do take COVID-19 and its effects seriously, I'm not all that worried about it. My current anxiety is low because I'm using the COVID-19 scare as an opportunity to cultivate calm. I'd like to show you how so you can decrease your own anxiety despite the serious nature of this situation. 

The idea of “self-care” for your mental health is a concept that’s thrown around so much lately that it could be considered an obnoxious buzzword. With good reason, whenever a term reaches the “obnoxious buzzword” status, certain segments of the population are inclined not to take it seriously. I don’t want this to happen with the idea of self-care for your mental health, because it is honestly among the most important things you can do to if you’re stricken with anxiety.

Overstimulation causes anxiety. Everywhere you go, everything you do, your brain takes things in. This is good. It means you're alive, alert, and active. However, the constant barrage of stimuli can work against you when "everything" becomes too much. Constant input from the world around us leads to thoughts, interpretations, and emotions and can keep us feeling keyed-up, on edge. This causes a pervasive sense of anxiety that can be vague and hard to pinpoint. Anxiety due to overstimulation can be exhausting and sometimes even debilitating. Knowing why this happens and how to refocus can reduce anxiety and leave you feeling a much-needed sense of calm.