It would be nice to change your anxious thoughts because they often cause great misery. It can be annoying when ideas crashing around in our brain cause anxiety. These crashing and rumbling ideas are known as automatic negative thoughts (ANTs). They often overpower all other thoughts so we believe that our ANTs are true and reliable, and anxiety grows bigger and stronger. Negative, anxious thoughts further control how we interpret the world by imposing a bunch of rules on how we think and what we do. Knowing the rules will help you break the rules so you can move away from anxiety's control and change your anxious thoughts. 

My mental illness will never be cured, but I’m not asking you to think my opinions are the only valid ones. That would be a mistake. All I ask is that you listen and agree if you so choose. That being said, this post is going to touch on the idea of finding a “cure” for mental illness. For some, the idea of being “cured” of their malady is a dream – for me, I’ve resigned myself to the fact that I’ll never be cured, and, in fact, I don’t want to be cured of my mental illness.

If you've experienced panic attacks, what do you do when you're panicking? That might seem like an odd question, but a certain answer can help you bring them to an end no matter their cause or the symptoms you feel. This may or may not be surprising: adopting a new perspective can shape what you do when you're panicking, and ultimately reduce the intensity and frequency of anxiety or panic attacks.

I feel high anxiety in the heat. This is not the first time I’ve mentioned this. I just don’t deal with heat well. I never have. Not surprisingly, July is perhaps the worst month for someone like me, as it’s often more than just hot – it’s unbearably hot.

Coping skills activities for anxiety and stress are actions you take to keep going forward despite negative experiences. Accumulating a variety of these tools and strategies can help you manage your thoughts, emotions, and physical tension. The following three coping skills activities for reducing anxiety and stress are designed to help you reap immediate benefits to feel calmer and more in-control now and well into the future as you do them regularly to reduce anxiety and stress for a better quality of life.

The increased awareness of people who are mentally ill has led to an increase in the number of people who want to be mental health allies. Both of these things are great, of course. However, if you want to be an ally, there are good and bad ways to do it, and perhaps the most important thing to remember is if you want to be an ally, don’t be selfish.

Few people think of anxiety as a scheduling affair; however, conceptualizing anxiety relief as something that involves planning can help you schedule away your anxiety. Imagine being able to schedule anxiety out of your life. There are multiple ways to do it. Here we'll explore three different ways to use the concept of scheduling to drastically reduce anxiety.

It's important to divulge your anxiety disorder to important people, and in a previous post, I tried to convince whoever I could that disclosing your anxiety was in your best interest. If you are one of those readers and actually took my advice, thank you. Now, you may need some practical tips for how to divulge your anxiety to others – I hope these can help.

If you're tired of living in anxiety's limiting trap, declare independence from your anxiety and then celebrate your freedom. Anxiety is controlling and cruel, ensnaring people in its trap and dictating thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. If you're trying to live your life but find yourself repeatedly thwarted by the anxiety that rules your thoughts, emotions, and actions, you have the right and the power to break free. 

The idea of status anxiety is one that has been gaining traction in the cultural landscape since the early 2000s. For those who are unaware, status anxiety is, more or less, exactly what the name suggests: feeling anxious because your financial or social standing is not where you want it to be.