Anxiety exists in the body, and there are physical side effects of anxiety. We can experience anxiety symptoms throughout our whole being; indeed, anxiety impacts our thoughts, emotions, behaviors, and sense of physical wellbeing. Symptoms of severe anxiety can be frightening and lead to even more anxiety. Anxiety invades the body, an unwelcome guest that overstays its unwelcome. The physical side effects of anxiety can cause difficulty and even agony. 

I've learned lessons from my anxiety, and for that I'm grateful. I was surprised when I realized this. After all, anxiety can be challenging to live with. The symptoms of anxiety affect our total being; indeed, anxiety reaches our thoughts, emotions, physical health, and behaviors. Few, if any, people would choose to live with anxiety. Yet what if we stepped back and examined anxiety from a different perspective? Wouldn't it be nice if there were some sort of greater purpose to it, perhaps life lessons to learn from anxiety? When I stepped back to look at my anxiety differently, I realized that there are many lessons I've learned from anxiety. 

Kids aren’t the only ones who can benefit from playing in the sand; adults and kids alike can reduce anxiety when they play with sand. Play therapy, which involves many different techniques including sand play, is a legitimate therapeutic approach to treating a multitude of mental health issues. When people think of play therapy, they often think it’s something for children and issues unique to childhood struggles. While play therapy is used largely with children, it is used with adults, too. And beyond official play therapy, kids and adults benefit greatly when they, on their own and outside of a therapy session, simply play with sand to reduce anxiety.

While social anxiety is often thought to be something for the introverted among us—after all, they tend to be quiet and reserved—extroverts can experience social anxiety, too. In fact, introversion and extroversion are aspects of personality have no bearing on social anxiety. Social anxiety is an anxiety disorder, a mental health challenge that can be faced by anyone regardless of personality type. Therefore, extroverts can, indeed, experience social anxiety, too.

Anxiety is loud and obnoxious; to reduce anxiety, shut up and listen with a quiet mind. Listen? Why on earth would we want to listen to anxiety? After all, it's a bully that messes with our minds, bodies, and very lives. As  true as that may be and as much as we want anxiety to leave us alone, arguing back or even agreeing with it doesn't make it disappear. Instead, when you shut up and listen with a quiet mind, you can reduce anxiety. 

Are you facing change that's increasing feelings of stress and anxiety? Anxiety can be related to adjustment disorder. We humans often dislike change; sometimes we even fear change. When change creates such stress that it interferes in the ability to fully function in life (work, school, interpersonal relationships, etc.),  a diagnosis of adjustment disorder by a primary care physician, therapist, or other health care provider is sometimes in order. If you're facing change and experiencing difficulties, know that you're not alone. Anxiety can be related to adjustment disorder, and treating both anxiety and adjustment disorder is possible. 

Anxiety can be horrendous, so why would anyone want to stop avoiding anxiety and instead practice acceptance and commitment therapy? Avoiding anxiety can make a lot of sense. After all, anxiety can cause our thoughts to race with fear and worry, it can make our emotions spiral out of control, and it can create a whole host of awful physical symptoms from head to toe.

Do you ever get tired of anxiety, with all of its frustrations and limitations? An anxious mind can be exhausting; adopting a beginner’s mind can be uplifting and freeing. The concept of a beginner’s mind, called shoshin, comes from Zen Buddhism, and it teaches us to approach life as a beginner. This can feel refreshing, given that anxiety constantly tries to rule our lives as an authoritarian expert. If you’re tired of living with anxiety, adopt a beginner’s mind.

It’s the time of year for summer celebrations, and to fully enjoy them, we’d love to lower the party anxiety that frequently accompanies the fun. For a multitude of reasons, parties, gatherings, and celebrations can heighten anxiety. Whether it’s the dread that comes with the idea of having to come up with the right things to say, the fear of being judged, the forced interaction with strangers or acquaintances and family that you’re in conflict with, or more, summer celebrations can lead to intense party anxiety. Fortunately, you don’t have to spend the season in misery. Below are eight ways to lower party anxiety during summer celebrations.

Parenting and anxiety frequently go hand-in-hand, and it can be difficult to determine when parenting worries are normal and when they escalate to unhealthy levels. The term normal is a loaded one, of course. Here, it implies no judgement whatsoever. It's a mathematical term indicating that parenting anxiety is typical, experienced by a majority of people as they lovingly raise and care for their children. It's common for us parents to wonder about our own parenting and anxiety and whether it's normal or unhealthy.