Tag: anxiety

person relaxing

How To Fight Anxiety: 4 Techniques that Work

Do you ever feel suddenly overwhelmed by things you need to do? Or perhaps you get that anxious feeling where you just can’t focus on anything?

You’re not alone.

This article will show you how you can fight anxiety by presenting four scientifically proven, easy-to-do techniques you can do anywhere that will help your body and mind reverse these unpleasant feelings, so that you can get back into a state of calm where you can focus on the task at hand.

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happy pill depression poem birdie fudge

Happy Pill [a poem]

By Birdie Fudge | Featured Contributor


A while back, I went on medication for the first time for my major depressive disorder and generalized anxiety. I wrote poems every day, starting from the first day I took the pill. I used my poetry to track my mood and the timeline of the medicine taking effect. When I look at the poetry written during the beginning of that journey and compare it to now, it’s as if two different people are speaking. This poem reflects me in the beginning of my journey. My other poem, “I am Grateful,” reflects how I feel today.

***

It’s like suddenly
I took this magic pill 
and I was given the gift of reason 
and all my fears seemed to disappear 
my anxieties subsided 
or at least they were dulled out 
beneath the surface 
the layer of fog 
on top of all my other emotions 
became lifted

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Stepping into Unknown Kathy Ha anxiety

Stepping into the Unknown

By Kathy Ha | Featured Contributor


Overthinking and overanalyzing is a common problem with anxiety sufferers. The mind likes to run in endless loops of worthless conjecture, questioning, dissecting and criticizing every decision and response. It becomes a hardwired obsessive behavior that leaves the person physically exhausted and emotionally drained. Without intervention and retraining of the mind, life can feel like an insurmountable hurdle.

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coping with anxiety and depression mental health story

Battling Anxiety & Depression: Abigail’s Story

By Abigail A. | Featured Contributor


Anxiety. One word, four syllables—but carries such a heavy load for millions of people across the globe. Anxiety is defined as “an emotion characterized by feelings of tension, worried thoughts, and physical changes.” As a young girl, I have always known that something didn’t feel quite right when: a) I felt faint whenever it came to public speaking, b) I hated the thought of confrontation, and c) I always felt nervous when it came to being around a group of people, etc. I never knew what it was until 20 something years later when my doctor diagnosed me with generalized anxiety disorder and social anxiety disorder, aka GAD & SAD. I finally had a name for what I was feeling all these years as a child/teenager and into adulthood. Numerous factors contributed to me developing anxiety. However, in my early twenties, I battled severe depression, and If I ever lost all hope in life, it was those 5 years because those were my darkest mental days. As the saying goes, I wish that on no one because it was a very scary place to be in.

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kathy ha anxiety poem

Anxiety & Me [a poem]

By Kathy Ha | Featured Contributor


Does it ever end?
I’m tired of the inner turmoil
I’m tired of being anxious
the rollercoaster ride of emotions
swirling and churning within
old scars reopen
past nightmares haunt
doubt invades, fear paralyses
silent screams that no one hears
I keep building my wall
uninviting, tall and proud
but the façade is brittle
weathered by the years
I’m lost in despair
unsure of who I am
uncertain of how to change
afraid of the road ahead

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lance merrick anxiety poem

I’m Calming Myself Down [a poem]

By Lance Merrick | Featured Contributor


Author’s Note: This poem is a mindfulness exercise that I use to help calm anxiety.

***

Feeling the room surround me
Testing each of my senses
Tasting sweet peppermint candy
Touching my feet to the ground
Seeing blue skies out my window
Hearing passing cars,
the bathroom fan,
My deep breathes and
the crunch of peppermint candy.

It takes about an hour to come around.
I’m calming myself down.

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managing stress

Effects of Stress on Your Body & Health: What to Know

Do you often feel stressed out? Do you have things in your life that frequently cause you stress? Has the COVID-19 pandemic caused you to just feel burned out? If you do, you are truly not alone. In this article, I will discuss the effects of stress on your body and your health—both the immediate effects and the long term damage—and then introduce the most fundamental aspect of stress management: identifying causes of stress and unhealthy coping mechanisms.

In separate articles, I discuss stress management techniques that have been proven to work in both lowering stress and decreasing the harmful effects of it on your health.

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