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. 

Though the potential causes of anxiety are infinite in number, I would suggest that issues surrounding communication are among the most significant. In this post, I want to argue for the importance of always being as open as possible when communicating with others, as I believe it is an important way to mitigate the potential negative effects of anxiety.

Dealing with boundary issues can cause anxiety, but it's possible to reduce that anxiety and establish healthy boundaries. Boundaries refer to your sense of yourself as well as when, where, how much, and from whom you'll give and take. The ability to establish boundaries helps your mental health as well as your relationships with others; however, anxiety can cause the inability to create boundaries just as the lack of boundaries can cause anxiety. Despite the double-edged sword, there are ways you can reduce anxiety around boundary issues to improve your quality of life. 

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.

Boundary issues can cause us a tremendous amount of anxiety. Boundaries refer to your sense of self, to what makes you "you." They relate to how "you" interact in the world. What's important to you? How do you navigate your relationships? Every relationship involves give and take; your sense of boundaries define when, where, and with whom you'll give and where when, and from whom you'll take. Defining and maintaining boundaries can be extraordinarily difficult, often causing high anxiety. Read on for information about two ways that boundary issues can cause anxiety.

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.

What are the effects of anxiety? Many people are familiar with anxiety; indeed, "anxiety" has become a common household word, and for good reason. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported in 2015 that almost 265 million people worldwide lived with an anxiety disorder. This figure doesn't include all the people who experience anxiety but not as a diagnosable disorder. Yet despite its prevalence, anxiety can be hard to describe and can leave people wondering if what they're feeling is anxiety or something else. Anxiety is a mental health condition with many effects. Here's a look at what anxiety is based on its effects. 

One of the symptoms of anxiety is trouble focusing, and I’m going through that right now. I always find it fascinating when I consider the fact that so many of my anxiety symptoms manifest at the most random times. I haven’t had to deal with lack of focus and anxiety for a while, but now, it seems as though I haven’t been able to focus on anything for several days.

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.