Anxiety is stupid. That’s how a high school student once described it to me. In that moment, nothing more needed to be said. Anxiety is stupid; it’s a plain and simple truth. In the next moment, though, something did need to be said. The truth about anxiety was incomplete. Anxiety is stupid, I agreed, and you are smart. Adding that second part, the bit about you—everyone—being smart shifts our attention ever so slightly away from anxiety and onto ourselves as people who are smart, strong, and capable of beating anxiety (it is, after all, stupid). Anxiety is stupid because it says you can’t do things. You’re smart because, despite anxiety’s lies, you can do things. Here’s why you’re smart and capable.

Explaining anxiety isn't an easy feat. As someone who studied English literature in school, I often turn to poetry to help me gain perspective. The great poets have been through the same struggles we have, and their work is an invaluable testimony of those struggles.

Anxiety zaps self-confidence. When it knocks out our belief in ourselves, anxiety often takes with it our sense of who we are, what we can do, and how we want to be. How is it that anxiety can be such a powerful force that it encompasses not only worry and fear but our belief that we are okay, legitimate human beings in our own right? Anxiety can chip away at self-acceptance, but there are ways to pick up the pieces and put them back together. You can create the courage to be self-confident despite anxiety.

It happens to me all too often. I work full time. I ride my bike to and from work every day. Theoretically, I should fall asleep the second my head hits the pillow, but I don’t - racing thoughts and a restless heart, more often than not, make that impossible. Instead of letting every sleepless night snowball into catastrophe, I’ve learned how to turn them into something more manageable. Here are some of the things that have helped me the most.

Believe it or not, you can do things to calm your anxious mind in less than five minutes. Even when anxiety is intense, even when your fear is heightened or you feel on the verge of panic, you have the power to take action to stop anxiety in its tracks. The beauty of these actions lies in their simplicity. You don't have to remember fancy techniques, nor do you have to have special equipment or props. You only need yourself, your anxiety, and a desire to be calm quickly. If you're ready, here are five things to do to calm your anxious mind in five minutes or less. 

The mean world syndrome is real and it's nurturing your fear and anxiety. Mean world syndrome is an apt term, perfectly describing what it is. It refers to the belief that the world itself is a mean place. Although it's called a syndrome, it's not a diagnosis; instead, it refers to a phenomenon that can cause tremendous fear and anxiety. Where does this belief in a mean world come from?

You can reduce anxiety and panic by building basic skills. Perhaps you've heard of having an anxiety toolbox: a collection of tips, strategies, and techniques you can do to manage anxiety and panic attacks. The concept of building basic skills to reduce anxiety and panic is similar. However, now you're going to go a bit deeper with it. Reducing anxiety and panic by intentionally building a specific skill set will help you improve not just your experience with anxiety but the overall quality of your life.

When you intentionally cultivate awareness of your anxiety, you develop knowledge and power that will allow you to reclaim yourself and your life. Mental Health Awareness Month is in full swing, and part of celebrating it is spending time with your worries. Rid yourself of it by cultivating awareness of your anxiety. (Oh, and if you’re catching this outside of May, you can still develop insight to beat anxiety. There isn’t a time frame for beating anxiety.)

Is it time to rethink anxiety and its purpose or meaning in your life? What is your current perspective on anxiety? Beyond that, what is your relationship with your anxiety? When we live with anxiety or an anxiety disorder, it’s quite normal to struggle against it and fight, argue, and curse it—all in an attempt to make the anxiety go away. From this perspective, anxiety can be an abusive bully or a prison guard. Viewing anxiety this way leads to thoughts and emotions that are rooted in anger, resentment, and other negative reactions that affect your actions. Here's an exercise to help you rethink anxiety and do wonders for how you feel and live your life.