Anxiety

A child wearing a decorative gold and white mask with feathers at a festival.
Anxiety

The Emotional Cost of Masking Anxiety in Daily Life

Anxiety

Many people living with anxiety become experts at hiding it. They show up to work, attend social events, and carry out daily responsibilities while quietly struggling inside. Masking anxiety allows someone to appear calm and capable even when they are overwhelmed.  And often times when that person is alone, the mask is off, and they silently struggle. While masking can sometimes help people navigate stressful situations, constantly hiding anxiety can come with a significant emotional […]

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Anxiety

Anxiety: Practices to Help Untangle Fear From Fact

Anxiety

Anxiety has a powerful way of blurring the line between what might happen and what is actually happening. If you struggle with generalized anxiety, you probably know this feeling well. Your mind moves quickly.  It scans for danger, predicting outcomes, replaying conversations, and preparing for worst-case scenarios. Even when there isn’t clear evidence of a problem, your body can react as if something is wrong. The heart races. Muscles tense. Sleep becomes harder. And over

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Anxiety

CBT for Anxiety

Anxiety

Anxiety.  Endless hours of worrying that can so easily consume you every single day.  Anxiety is draining.  It makes you tired, but then you cannot sleep because your brain won’t shut down.  It makes you irritable and sometimes completely sick to your stomach.  Your thoughts may race with “what ifs,” and even simple daily tasks can feel overwhelming.  Anxiety is like that annoying little gnat that we can never get rid of.  Or at least

A woman sits on a green sofa looking stressed, holding her head with her hands.
Anxiety

Generalized Anxiety Disorder: What It Is and Ways to Treat It

Anxiety

Anxiety is a word that is known to many, possibly too many. A common question I get is “Why do I have anxiety?” Sometimes it is not always clear. Anxiety can come from genetics, life stressors, environment, and even facing a traumatic event. Anxiety can, at times, be very crippling. Some of the most common symptoms of anxiety are struggling with sleep, struggling to concentrate, becoming irritable, and of course, constantly worrying. Many clients will

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Anxiety, teens

Teenagers: Coping with Anxiety

Anxiety, teens

More and more often, both as a licensed clinician and as a high school counselor, I see so many teenagers plagued with anxiety. Since I started counseling over 10 years ago, I feel that the numbers of teenagers having symptoms of anxiety has increased. What I see even more are teenagers who do not have strong coping skills. When you mix these two characteristics, lack of coping skills and heightened levels of anxiety, you can

A teenager in a hoodie having a therapy session with a female therapist on a sofa.
Anxiety, OCD

Difference Between OCD & Anxiety

Anxiety, OCD

Two of the most commonly confused disorders are Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). One of the main reasons why is because they have symptoms that overlap which can make it more confusing to tell the difference. Many of times GAD worries are based off of reality whereas OCD worries are more bizarre, but this is not always the case, which is why it can make diagnosing these disorders correctly even harder. While both involve anxiety,