If you experience intense mood swings and start behaving out of character, it might be easy to blame it on a mood disorder. For instance, if you have skipped classes several times, you might say that it was because of your anxiety. While that was probably a huge reason for it, there could be more specific reasons as to why your anxiety increased. The things that stimulate a negative change in your thoughts, behaviors, and actions can be loosely thought of as your triggers. Identifying your triggers so that you can deal with them is important for you to manage your mood disorder symptoms and increase your quality of life. To learn how to recognize and deal with your triggers, continue reading this post.

While common responsibilities include working, raising families, going to school, and doing household chores, practicing self-care is just as important. Yet, we often do not make it part of our priorities. One reason is that we are busy thinking about other things and helping other people. However, we need self-care to function well in life. To learn more about self-care and two analogies that represent its importance, continue reading this post.

Anxiety is a common struggle for people who undergo major stress. However, anxiety becomes paralyzing when it intensifies so much that a person loses the ability to function. In this post, I share my description of paralyzing anxiety and information about my experience with it. I also discuss coping methods that helped me get through paralyzing anxiety.

Have you ever wished you could take back something you said to someone? Maybe after a stressful day, you took out your frustrations on a family member, friend, or partner. Maybe you said something inappropriate to a colleague or teacher. In any case, saying things you regret can have negative consequences and cause lasting feelings of guilt. Here are five ways to avoid regret from your words.

Friends come and go in life. Some friendships end after fights or abuse. Other friendships simply fade due to busy lives. The good news is that you might get a chance to rekindle a friendship. Social media makes it easy to reconnect. You could also encounter a former friend by being at the same place at the same time. The question becomes whether rebuilding a friendship with someone is healthy. If you struggle with anxiety, the decision to rekindle a friendship can seem overwhelming. Read this post to learn about questions you should ask yourself before you decide to rekindle a friendship.

During childhood, crying is an expected reaction to pain. Children do not know many other ways to express negative emotions. But as adults, most of us understand emotions and know how to handle them in public situations. Many adults are embarrassed to cry because they do not want to appear weak. However, crying does not deserve the bad reputation it has received. Crying can actually benefit us in many ways. To learn about three benefits of crying, continue reading this post.

Have you ever had a time when a negative intrusive thought made it difficult for you to focus on a task? If you only had the thought one time, it probably wasn't a huge deal. However, when a negative thought starts to occur more frequently, it can prevent you from doing your best work. Constant unwanted thoughts that disrupt your ability to do something are called intrusive thoughts. If you are struggling to deal with these thoughts, here are five coping strategies.

No matter how you feel about your job, work can be difficult some days. A work break can give you a chance to reduce anxiety and improve your mood. If your job's stress and demands cause you to feel down in the midst of a work break, there are many activities you can do to feel at ease and enjoy the time. Here are five ways to relax and recharge for the rest of your workday.

Everyone has different ways of dealing with anxiety and depression. Some people benefit most through intense physical exercise. Others find relief through social activities or creativity. Lately, I find that coloring helps me deal with anxiety and depression. To learn about why coloring improves my mental health, continue reading this post.

Mood tracking makes understanding your mood triggers or patterns and talking to mental health professionals easier. If you see a therapist, one of the questions they might ask you is how you would rate your level of anxiety and/or depression. Answering this question can be difficult, as moods change all the time. An effective way to rate your moods accurately is to track them every day.