Performance anxiety may prevent me from living my dream of singing professionally. Since junior high school, choir teachers and audience members commented on my anxious stage presence. I loved to sing with other people in unison or harmony, but when it came to solos, I was a nervous wreck. I was the recipient of the “Every Which Way but Loose” award in high school choir because onstage, I simply couldn’t relax and enjoy performing. Performance anxiety was front and center at every concert, and it often stole my spotlight.

How do you stay grounded when the superwoman syndrome or the superman complex make your anxiety soar? It's hard to feel calm and live anxiety-free when you pressure yourself to be perfect in every way, in every situation. Living with the superwoman syndrome or a superman complex can make you feel high-strung yet utterly exhausted. It can cause multiple symptom-types of anxiety: physical, cognitive (thought-based), and emotional. If you feel you have to be Superman or Superwoman, you may find that the idea of letting go actually increases—not decreases—anxiety. That's okay. Getting rid of this kind of anxiety is a process. Read on for tips on how to stay grounded to get rid of the superman complex or superwoman syndrome. 

Do you expect yourself to be Superman or Superwoman, a person with powers so great that you can do it all with no side effects like anxiety? If you are, you’re not alone. This pressure to do it all, be everyone to everything, is common enough to have terms attached to them: Superman complex or the Superwoman syndrome. Feeling pressured to live your life in a superhuman way can and does contribute to anxiety. You can use your very human powers to fight the Superwoman syndrome or Superman complex and decrease anxiety. 

What causes my anxiety? Why am I so anxious? As if anxiety itself weren’t bad enough, not knowing what causes anxiety can make matters even worse. It’s natural to want to know just what is making you feel the worry and fear of generalized anxiety disorder, the dread of people and social situations of social anxiety disorder, the unease of separation anxiety disorder, the frights of phobias, or the death-grip of panic disorder/panic attacks. Knowing what causes any type of anxiety can be an important part of the puzzle and can help you move forward. 

If you live with anxiety, chances are pretty good that you’ve heard a well-meaning family member or friend tell you, “Just get over it,” "Just get over anxiety." If it were that easy, no one would have anxiety because we’d all get over it and move on (‘Get Over It’ Is Unhelpful Advice for Mental Illness Sufferers). Unfortunately, the idea of just getting over it doesn’t help anxiety, and being told to do so can make it worse. Why doesn’t hearing “Just get over it,” fail to help anxiety? What can you do about it?

Do you hate the phone (or, more specifically, talking on the phone) or experience phone anxiety? If so, you’re not alone. I loathe talking on the phone, and I’m always surprised by the people I encounter who confess the same thing. Aversion to the phone exists on a spectrum, ranging from a simple dislike to a much more complex reaction involving full-blown anxiety, with all of its physical and emotional symptoms. Continue reading to learn some facts about phone anxiety as well as ways to deal with hating talking on the phone. 

When dealing with a crisis, it can be difficult to stay calm and anxiety-free. After all, “crisis” implies catastrophe, disaster, and sometimes even near-Armageddon. In reality, a crisis can be of any size or nature and is something that causes distress to those involved. Facing any type of crisis can create new anxiety where none existed before, and it can aggravate existing anxiety and anxiety disorders. While it’s natural to experience heightened anxiety during a crisis, it’s not a rule. You can stay calm and anxiety free in a crisis. Here’s how to do it. 

The human brain has a negativity bias, and it is partially because of this negatively skewed view of our world that we experience anxiety. Studies have shown that the brain notices the negative more quickly and more frequently than it notices the positive.1 Not only that, it reacts much more strongly to negative stimuli than to positive. When our brain automatically, on its own, gravitates toward the negative and focuses its attention there, we feel stressed and anxious. Are we doomed to anxiety because of the negativity bias?

Researchers are beginning to shed light on the relationship between anxiety and sunlight, and it’s becoming evident that the sun is linked to anxiety and possibly even panic disorder. The connection between sunlight and depression has long been established (Relationship Between Depression and Anxiety). The inclusion of anxiety and sunlight in this mix is a development that just might illuminate more strategies to reduce anxiety. 

Troubleshooting anxiety is an important part of the ongoing process of living well and thriving despite anxiety. Anxiety has an annoying habit of popping up at seemingly random times. Just when you think your anxiety is improving, it rears its hideously ugly head and jumps in front of you, blocking your path forward. Making matters worse is the fact that anxiety is often vague and hard to pinpoint. The following how-to guide for troubleshooting anxiety will help you identify specific problems and determine how you want to deal with them.