All my life, I’ve struggled with stress -- similarly, all my life I’ve had a sensitive stomach. Occasionally, in what seems like the most random times, my stomach becomes upset for what seems like no reason at all. I had never really given it much thought until now, instead just accepting it as a random quirk of my body.

Teaching yourself to breathe might seem strange, especially as a way to reduce anxiety. You started practicing breathing even before you were born, and you've been breathing ever since. The respiratory system is hardwired to work with the brain and body to keep us functioning well. What happens, though, is that over time, we develop bad breathing habits (like bad posture habits, bad eating habits, and myriad other behaviors that don't do much for our wellbeing). The breath is essential in managing anxiety, and learning how to breathe correctly will help reduce your anxiety.

I’ve written about mental health disclosure on this blog several times in the past. In those posts, I’ve taken a strong stance in favor of the practice, because I am firmly committed to the benefits mental health disclosure brings to those who are mentally ill.

When you live with anxiety, the mere thought of joining an anxiety support group can kick the fight-or-flight response into overdrive. To avoid attending an anxiety group with other people, you might be willing to fight tooth and nail to escape into the safety of the space under your bed. However, anxiety support groups offer benefits like the ability to share your experiences and challenges, to be deeply heard, and to offer a listening ear in return. These are only a few of the benefits people can reap by joining a support group for anxiety. Here are six more reasons to join a support group for anxiety.

As September is Suicide Awareness Month, it is only appropriate that the subject of suicide and temporary anxiety should be touched upon in this blog. Like with any mental illness, the specter of suicide is never far from the man or woman with anxiety. When you think about it, this makes sense – to someone weathered and beaten by an unending torrent of stress, suicide can seem to be a logical way to end that stress and keep your mind at peace. This, of course, is a failure of logic, for as the title of this blog makes clear, anxiety is temporary, while suicide is forever. (Note: This post contains a trigger warning.)

Every time somebody attempts or dies by suicide, at least six people are left struggling profoundly to deal with the difficult, overwhelming emotions that are a natural part of grief1. Those bereaved by suicide often feel high anxiety and guilt. Unfortunately, however, this intense anxiety and crushing guilt can be overlooked as everyone focuses on the person who has attempted or died by suicide. If you have excessive anxiety, worry, fear, and/or feelings of guilt in the wake of suicidal behavior of someone you care about, know that you're not alone and that your feelings aren't wrong or selfish. The following information can help you identify your anxiety and guilt as well as know what to do about it. (Note: This post contains a trigger warning.)

I’m writing this from a hotel room in Atlanta, Georgia. I’m here for a week to go to a metal festival, and I’m having the time of my life. I don’t often take many out of state vacations, for a number of reasons, but being here reminds me of how much of a benefit going away really is.

Constant anxious thoughts can induce great misery and suffering. Automatic negative thoughts, or ANTs, are patterns of thinking that cause anxiety and keep anxiety strong and powerful. Words like "should," "shouldn't," "always," "never," and a host of negative labels we place on ourselves are part of those automatic negative thoughts that can keep us trapped in our private world of thoughts, worries, and fears. Because understanding the nature of constant anxious thoughts can help you choose what to do about them, here are a few facts about anxiety and thoughts.

We all have habits that cause anxiety or worsen existing anxiety. This does not mean that we're intentionally causing our own anxiety, not at all. No one is to blame for their anxiety. Habits are merely things we do (or don't do) because we're so used to doing them, we don't even think about them. Occasionally operating on autopilot and inadvertently doing things that worsen or cause anxiety is actually pretty empowering. When you learn about habits that worsen your anxiety, you can actively stop those actions and replace them with more mentally healthy ones. 

I don’t need to convince you that we live in chaotic, scary times – that’s self-evident. Given that, it’s almost too easy to give in to despair and give up. However, support in a chaotic world is possible.