Mental Illness: It's Not Just You It's Mental Health Awareness Week and some of  Hollywood's brightest stars have created a charity, and coming out campaign. Watch the PSA with the ever-sexy Harrison Ford: No Kidding, Me too! Let's change the conversation about mental health, and treat anxiety. Here's a Friday fun one to help lighten your week: The Obsessive-Compulsive Buddhist

Dare I say it, treating anxiety can be kind of, well, fun? I learnt a genuinely enlightening lesson this week about getting in touch with calm through body movement and mindfulness techniques. Sounds fancy but it's actually a really down to Earth way to stop anxiety. I strained my Achilles tendon running, of all things, earlier in the week --Very impressive bruise. Anyway, when it comes to anxiety it doesn't always pay to push. It isn't a war: You're just looking for peace. Anxiety is still a struggle, for most of us, even when you get that it isn't a fight. So off I went to Yoga to to ease the strain, both in body and brain.

Strung out, wound up, where am I again? Stay present. Get grounded. Wracking my brain for self help anxiety techniques. Don't go away. Please don't leave me this way. Sweaty palms, and here I am. Floating like that plastic bag in American Beauty, only it isn't nearly so noble when you're the bag.

We have ways to describe anxiety and fatigue: Bone-weary, bushed, all in, dazed, dopey, depleted, drugged. Washed-up, worn-out, dozy, dreamy. Soporific, sluggish, torpid, tuckered, done. One of the hardest parts of living with anxiety is how tired you get. Anxiety can cause extreme fatigue. In fact, the fatigue of anxiety, that lack of energy, is often the first tip that something's really not okay.

Balance is essential to combat anxiety. Something of an obvious statement but it always surprises me how easily things get out of hand. These past few days saw the autumnal equinox, where night and day are of equal length. Summer is officially over. Can you believe it's almost October already? Bring on the pecan pie! Money tends to get tighter around this time of year which can be a source of stress, too. There's that global downturn again. The switch in gears is also tricky to navigate if you're amped up on anxiety already. To help with all that

So maybe you want to know: What is anxiety like? The $64,000 question. Shrinks, doctors, therapists, they all ask it: How do you feel? Recipe for Anxiety Take a build-up of tension Pile high with worry, and plenty of stress Add a dash of low self-esteem and/or depression A handful of racing, fearful thoughts - niggling, diving, driving  the mind to a peak

My head is a marvelous place, I just wish I wasn't in it all the time. I'm practicing patient impatience; kicking rocks off a cliff whilst I wait for the spinning to stop. Waiting, waiting, waiting - wanting something different. Different how? That's key. Wondering, am I really that stressed?

Why don't joy and serenity keep? No preservatives added? They take manufacturing, and time. It's costly - the emotional equivalent of organic, artisanal goods. And boy, they're a must to be locally produced. Anxiety and depression, however, they pack pretty well. Available in store now. Clearly, this is one of those comorbid days. I had, honest I had, written some (semi-)coherent posts about theoretically helpful things. Right now I'm too restless and moody to care for how-to tips and things I've been reliably informed by people who've never suffered from an anxiety disorder. Yeah, this is a bit beyond blue. Grr. No, that isn't a real word. No, I still don't care how totally un-Zen this post is. (Not a word either.)

Sometimes the worst stress comes from the things that are all too terribly familiar. There are times that anxiety can make even daily tasks seem insurmountable, even though I've done them countless times before. I know it's something I can do, it's just that in that moment it's implausible, nigh on impossible I could do it again. What makes simple tasks so hard?

What does anxiety management mean to you? Make time for the things that don't have a space in your life, yet. How often are you able to feel calm, well-rested, comfortable? What can you change to make those things a part of your everyday existence?