Can anxiety disorders come from a traumatic brain injury (TBI)? Anxiety disorders can be challenging, and it’s natural to want to know what causes them. Anxiety disorders, like all mental illnesses, are disorders of the brain. The brain is an organ of the body, and it can experience disease and/or injury just like any other organ. Traumatic brain injury can cause serious damage inside the brain. Depending on what part of the brain is damaged, TBI can lead to mental illness. Anxiety disorders can, indeed, come from a traumatic brain injury (Relationship Between Head Injury and Anxiety Proven to Exist).

The words "anxiety," "criticism," and "self-doubt" can be synonyms, closely knit word triplets. Those mere words indicate that anxiety has many effects that tend to make life difficult. One particularly annoying effect of anxiety is sensitivity to criticism. Feeling crushed by criticism is an effect of anxiety, in general, and social anxiety, in particular, where the fear of being judged or of embarrassment can be immense. When anxiety and criticism are overpowering and lead to self-doubt, take heart. There are ways to conquer self-doubt. with with anxiety and criticism 

Avoidance and agoraphobia come from fear, and they involve someone removing him/herself from a problematic situation. Neither avoidance nor agoraphobia is a sign of failure or weakness. They're coping mechanisms. Why do people avoid anxiety-provoking or otherwise uncomfortable situations, and more, why do they develop agoraphobia? Some myths and stereotypes say that people living with agoraphobia are weak or lazy, failures at various things (Fear and Anxiety; The Meaning of Fear). Here’s why that’s wrong. 

I understand age-related anxiety. I’m going to turn 25 on the 21st of January. This is, of course, hardly an advanced age but, still, it feels like kind of a landmark birthday. The Internet is littered with lists of things that you should do and places you should travel to by this age, almost as if it is some sort of cut off date for being young and reckless. And I've never, in all honesty, been all that good at being young and reckless. I’m incredibly cautious and am terrified of most things so the thought of dropping everything and going backpacking in some faraway country is beyond my comprehension. This is, of course, difficult, as photographic depictions of youth in the media generally focus on perfectly slim, young things with seemingly limitless bank accounts leaping from waterfalls and laughing in exotic locations (Body-Image Distortion a Growing Problem Among Women and Men). Age-related anxiety is something I'm experiencing.

  It can be quite easy to feel anxious and overwhelmed by life.  Days are hectic, to-do lists are full, and we're just plain busy. This unrelenting busyness is overwhelming and can cause anxiety. Regain control of yourself and your life the fun way: by celebrating little accomplishments every day. 

Anxiety is often related to a sense of control; anxiety can be caused by a lack of a sense of control in one or more areas of life. This lack of control can cause a powerless feeling in the face of fears and worries. The lack of a sense of control can leave us feeling anxious, worried, or fearful when we don't think we should be. When you feel a vague, nagging worry, tension, edginess, or irritability but, frustratingly, can't identify a reason, perhaps the anxiety is connected to sense of control. How, exactly, can this sense of control cause anxiety? And what can we do about it? 

Social anxiety rarely works alone. Mind-reading and projecting, two negative thoughts that manipulate your mind, contribute to social anxiety, feeding it and super-sizing it. Social anxiety can be exhausting because of the chatter of racing thoughts going on inside the head. Someone with social anxiety takes in what's going on around him while simultaneously listening to harsh internal dialogue berating him and telling him he's worthless and that everyone else thinks so, too. Social anxiety can be a monster, and mind-reading and projecting are among its minions. 

Does caffeine affect anxiety? Studies continue on the notion of the side-effects of caffeine and whether or not they include anxiety, and at this point, there isn't a definitive answer. Some studies indicate that, yes, caffeine does impact anxiety; indeed, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), the authority on mental disorders published by the American Psychological Association, acknowledges the existence of caffeine-induced anxiety disorders. Other studies fall short of proving a real link between caffeine and anxiety. The question that matters most is this: what are the effects of caffeine on your anxiety? 

Social anxiety, jumping to conclusions, and peace of mind: which one of the phrases doesn't seem to fit with the others? In this particular set of words, three's a crowd, and it seems that peace of mind doesn't fit. Social anxiety and jumping to conclusions often go hand-in-hand, each make the other worse until a person's brain is chaotic and swirling with anxious thoughts, fears, and worries. No wonder peace of mind doesn't naturally fit. There's no room. When jumping to conclusions is removed, there's plenty of room for peace of mind even when social anxiety remains. 

Intense anxiety can seem to take over mind and body, and when you're a highly sensitive person, it can feel crushing. Each of the two states can be obnoxious on its own; combine living with intense anxiety and being a highly sensitive person, and it sometimes seems like there's no place to go where you don't feel wired, hyper-alert, overstimulated, and like a complete wreck (Why Does Anxiety Disorder Make You So Tired?). You're not a complete wreck. Intense anxiety and being a highly sensitive person can make you feel that way, though.