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TW: Mentions of COVID-19 and losing a loved one. COVID-19 has a history of dampening our summer plans. Ever since its initial insurgence in 2020, something just hasn’t felt the same about summer vacation....
A while ago, I started to read a book called The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. I read half and when I got busy with school, I put the book away and forgot...
A technique that I have been trying to implement in order to have more control over my thoughts in times when I am anxiously overthinking is to identify what those common thoughts are. Many...
Anxiety often feels like a battle between your mind and your heart. Your mind is telling you to “stop worrying, stop worrying, stop worrying,” while your heart continues to beat faster and faster, as if it welcomes the worry. I used to try and always deny the anxiety I would feel, whether it was during a performance, or before presenting to a class, or the anxiety I get when socializing. But I came to realize that denying your anxiety only makes it worse, causing it to fester and swell into what feels like a little green anxiety monster living inside of you. It’s not something you can continually repress or shoo away.
Ever since I was a toddler my mother has described me as anxious, but ironically enough this is one of the few illness I do not have a diagnosis for. Sure I have anxiety especially social anxiety, but I do not care if I do not have an official paper saying I have it or not. Although my psychiatrist may have diagnosed me, I do not really care to look through my medical files to confirm. It is debilitating at times when I am too afraid to order my own food or am unable to talk to a new person. I’m a champion at crying in restaurants. A diagnosis likely will not change that for me, but it might for you. When I am in therapy they’re usually aware right off the bat that I’m an anxious person so I do not need a diagnosis as it does not change my own quality of life.
Material things bring me joy. Having too many things however is a source of anxiety. Every time there is a holiday where gift giving is involved, I try to ask for items that can be “used up” and thrown away such as nice skin care, food items, or different things that I would like to try but wouldn’t normally purchase for myself. This way I can accumulate less items, because once they are empty, I can throw the container away. One of the reasons I do this is because I have a very difficult time donating and throwing things away. This can range from clothing to random objects or house décor.
The long-awaited holiday season can evoke so many emotions; joy, thankfulness, love, excitement, wonder – annnnd anxiety. If you’re like me, you may be feeling guilty for not sharing the same joyous emotions that...
You may have heard about the danger of depression naps before. However, this isn’t to imply that all naps are bad for you – in fact, they’re incredibly beneficial!
The situation may be all too familiar: you have an important event coming up, or worse, happening the very next day. It’s a job interview, a big test, the playoffs for the sport you play, a move to a new apartment, the start of a significant school year. No matter what it is, you can’t seem to sleep, like, at all. Your body is waking you up throughout the night, or it might not let you go to sleep at all, and you’re just lying there, trying to keep your eyes closed in your dark room despite being fully conscious.
A key contribution to my personal growth away from anxiety and depression has been keeping seemingly impactful negative thoughts in perspective with reality. Many times I have found myself having an average/decent day and letting turn for the worse due to the isolation originating from negative self-talk.
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