Imagine weakening panic attacks and anxiety attacks simply by being nice to yourself, also known as practicing self-compassion. Both panic attacks and anxiety attacks are intense experiences of severe anxiety that effectively paralyze people, trapping them in severe physical, emotional, and cognitive discomfort. These whole-being strikes are disruptive to life and painful to experience. While often severe, meeting panic attacks and anxiety attacks with self-compassion weakens them and lessens their negative effects. 

My cat helps me through tough times. I’ve talked about my cat, Lemmy, on and off on this blog since it began. I’ve even devoted an earlier post to him. But he’s never really been featured front and center on video before, and I wanted to change that.

Clutter and disorganization in your personal space and surrounding area can be worse than annoying: they can make you anxious. While clutter doesn't directly cause anxiety to begin, a messy area can cause your sense of anxiety to flare whether you live with an anxiety disorder or experience anxiety but not a disorder. Here's a look at how clutter can affect anxiety and anxiety-friendly ways to fix it.

To all those reading this blog: if there’s one thing I’d like you to take away from it, it’s how important developing empathy really is. This is something that is applicable far beyond just anxiety – I would argue that it’s essential if you want to be anything resembling a decent human being in general. But because we are focusing on mental health, I will devote this time specifically to why being an empathetic person is so important to those who are struggling with mental illness.

Imagine being able to stop worrying and find anxiety relief, even for a moment. Sometimes those moments bring a sense of peace and calm, allowing you to feel happy that your anxious thoughts, feelings, and experiences are leaving you alone. The quiet space is a reminder that, despite how it can seem, the work you're doing to move past anxiety and worries will pay off. In the meantime, there are times when your anxiety may spike and you just need a way to relieve anxiety and stop worrying now, in the moment. Here are 30 little ways to help you find relief when you need it. 

Here's an anxiety checklist that can help you define your relationship with anxiety. A big part of Mental Health Awareness Month, currently in full swing, is increasing understanding of all things mental health. This includes your own relationship with anxiety. It's useful to know what anxiety is, especially if you're experiencing uncomfortable symptoms but don't know if they are related to anxiety. You can use the below anxiety checklist to better understand your anxiety and then to strengthen your mental health. 

I love where I live. But unfortunately, I recently discovered that, against all my wishes, I may have to move at the end of the month. I'm no longer secure in my home.

Books focusing on anxiety are helpful, but these nontraditional anxiety-related books are worth the read for anxiety sufferers.

For many of you, hearing me recommend being alone while anxious may seem foreign, if not counterproductive. After all, a common suggestion for people with any mental illness is to maintain a healthy support network to get you through tough times. I’m not disagreeing with that suggestion, for I think it’s vitally important for your health. What I am suggesting is that during those periods of heightened anxiety, it may be helpful to step away from everyone and allow yourself to be alone with your thoughts.

If you distract yourself from anxiety, are you avoiding it? Are you running and hiding? Avoiding, and running and hiding, unfortunately, intensify anxiety; however, distraction can mute anxiety just enough for you to experience some welcome relief. The aim of distraction is to shift your thoughts from the automatic negative thoughts that are part of anxiety, to slow down your thoughts and the tendency to overthink everything and to release physical tension so you feel less like a tightrope and more like a hammock. These six ideas can start you on a happy path to distract yourself from anxiety.