Journaling for my anxiety is one technique that I have used in my life to help me cope with stress and anxious thoughts, and lately, it has become even more helpful.

Dealing with anxiety during COVID-19 is something foreign to us. It is hard not to experience stress and anxiety these days. I had planned to write this article about something else regarding anxiety, but I felt as though I would be remiss if I talked about anything other than what we are all going through right now and how it is affecting me since it is continuously a major part of my thoughts throughout the day.

Self-care for anxious times, such as the changes occurring due to the coronavirus, is so important. Not long ago, I wrote about experiencing anxiety when experiencing change. The current state of affairs in our world due to COVID-19 has been a major change in everyone's lives, and thus, due to these changes and the accompanying uncertainty, has truly impacted my anxiety.

How is perfectionism related to anxiety? If you cope with chronic anxiety, do you find that you often have fears of failure and inadequacy? Do you find that you often feel as though what you do is not good enough and that you are constantly trying to live up to certain standards?

Does exercise help you cope with anxiety? You've heard it before. You've been told to exercise to help your anxiety. But how are you supposed to do that when you have a million things on your mind? You don't get much sleep, you are often moody, and you can't seem to concentrate on anything. Exercise is the last thing you are thinking about and the last thing you want to do.

Have you found that you have often lost sleep due to worry and anxiety?

One of the biggest challenges I faced when I was in graduate school was trying to manage my time effectively. At the time, I was a full-time student, employee, mother, and wife. Juggling multiple roles was extremely difficult, and it often felt as though there were not enough hours available in the day. As someone who struggles with anxiety, you can imagine that this made my anxiety symptoms worse. I frequently experienced panic attacks, irritability, and constant worry. I was often sick and had a hard time staying focused. Eventually, I worked on ways to manage my day, and this is something I continue to work on.

What is the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA axis) and how does it create a stress response that triggers anxiety? Anxiety that comes up without any rhyme or reason is frustrating and a sign of the HPA axis in action. You can be feeling relaxed and calm doing something you enjoy, and yet somehow your body still starts telling you it's time to feel anxious. When this happens, it can be really difficult to cope because there isn't anything you can identify that is making you feel this way. In these times, understanding the physiological process involved in the experience of anxiety can help you relax through the experience and reduce your anxiety, so today I'm going to discuss the HPA axis and its role in anxiety. 

Sensory overload anxiety can be a real problem for highly sensitive people (HSP). While not all highly sensitive people face intense anxiety, it’s common for highly sensitive people to experience sensory overload anxiety from common, everyday occurrences. But with the right anxiety coping skills, we can better prepare and cope with the challenges of living as a highly sensitive person with anxiety.

Stress amplifies anxiety. Part of self-care is managing that stress and doing what we can to keep ourselves from feeling overwhelmed. Sometimes this means reducing our activities and obligations, even ones we like and would prefer to keep. It is for this reason that my time writing the Treating Anxiety blog must come to an end.