Category: Anxiety

It’s a crisp December morning. You open the front door to discover a brightly colored bag placed on the porch. Inside are some comestibles and a bottle of wine. The note identifies…

When I decided to write a book about illness anxiety, I thought it would be a purely professional and clinical endeavor. But as I started to put the words down, it gradually…

Normalizing Health-Related Fears Often, I work with clients who tell me they are having an “existential crisis.” My response is always the same: “No. You are thinking existentially. And that is not…

I remember sitting on a grassy hill during my first semester of senior year in college. It felt strange, literally not knowing where I would be in six months. With applications sent…

Does every conversation feel to you like yet another test? Before it starts, can you already half-imagine nano-cameras surveying your face and body, broadcasting each button, blink, and vowel as sirens scream:…

Like everyone else, I’ve heard, from the beginning of time, that exercise is good for you. This is nothing new. Exercise is good for everything. Nevertheless, I didn’t have high expectations that…

I’ve been told that the key in therapy for an anxious person is to show them that anxiety is harmless. Anxiety paints people into corners; we call it avoidance. Therapists help get…

Source: Tuzemka Shutterstock Our bodies are composed of a number of unique systems that work together to keep us alive and healthy. Sometimes, particularly when we are overwhelmed, stressed, or worried, these…

I’m not a big-time holiday person, and I’m not the only one. Sometimes an official holiday is simply a date on the calendar. Holidays, especially ones that make other people go wild,…

This post is part 2 of a series. Source: cottonbro studio/Pexels Years ago, when I lived in a co-ed, single-occupancy dormitory with six neighbors, among which three were violinists, one played the…