“First fear” is the natural response to danger. “Second fear” is our reaction to the anxiety itself. Second fear is the Continue reading “Second Fear”
Category: Anxiety
Anxiety related
Anxiety is not Keeping Us Safe
It is common to feel that our vigilance and anticipatory anxiety is what keeps us safe. But safe from what? The “danger” that we feel is actually Continue reading “Anxiety is not Keeping Us Safe”
Holiday Stresses
We have a tendency to underestimate holiday stresses. These are supposed to be happy, relaxing times spent with families, but instead can cause great anxiety and suffering. The upcoming holidays are Continue reading “Holiday Stresses”
Shame
Shame is rarely mentioned in the context of anxiety and depression, but it is a very important element of those conditions. It is perhaps the underlying emotion that contributes most to making the anxiety condition so painful. Healing our shame is Continue reading “Shame”
Exaggerated Anxious Reaction
A universal characteristic of the anxiety state is the exaggerated reaction we have to anxious thoughts, emotions, symptoms, and even to people, places or memories. We don’t understand why this happens to us. This exaggerated reaction and the accompanying bewilderment we feel are Continue reading “Exaggerated Anxious Reaction”
Focus on Feelings
The primary technique for recovery from anxiety is to ignore the intrusive thoughts and focus on our feelings. By focusing on feelings, we bring ourselves back to what is real.
On my journey to recovery, whenever I was confronted by anxious thoughts, I knew Continue reading “Focus on Feelings”
Anxiety and Depression
I was recently asked: “Is it common to have waves of sadness and feelings of depression even though I am mostly dealing with anxiety?” The answer is: Continue reading “Anxiety and Depression”
The Fear of Recovery
Recovery isn’t as easy as it sounds (unfortunately), and, for many anxiety sufferers, progress can be slow. It is not uncommon to get so far and then recovery seems to stall. There may be many reasons for this, but a sneaky one that is important to know about is Continue reading “The Fear of Recovery”
Social Media & Anxiety
Two characteristic behaviors in the anxiety state are our tendency to be self-critical, and to compare our lives negatively with the lives of others. We are also highly vulnerable to Continue reading “Social Media & Anxiety”
Turn Down the Heat
Our minds tend to get twisted into knots as we try to unravel the mystery of the anxiety state, how we fell into it, and how we can get out of it. We tend to over-complicate our anxiety, but there is one thing and one thing only that Continue reading “Turn Down the Heat”