For several years I’ve been intrigued by my own perception of time. Part of it is age-related, I’m sure: the older I get, the more time seems to rocket into the future. The harder I try to catch up, the farther it seems out of reach. It’s age and kids and my particular time of life – but I don’t think that’s all it is. Part of this feeling that I’m never caught up, that I’m always behind, is cultural. As a society, our perception of time and the good, of what is instant and what is slow, has changed. … Continue reading →

Going online is compelling. There is so much to see and do, so many ways to connect. Maintaining your online presence while simultaneously navigating life requires something called continuous partial attention, according to Linda Stone, a former Apple and Microsoft executive, who first coined the phrase. She defines continuous partial attention this way: “To pay continuous partial attention is to pay partial attention – continuously. It is motivated by a desire not to miss anything and to be a live node on the network – in touch and seen by others.” It’s like having one foot in cyberspace and one … Continue reading →

All of the work we do at The Center for Counseling and Health Resources is based on a whole-person approach to treatment and recovery from anxiety and depression. This includes attention paid to the physical, mental, emotional and relational aspects of self, as well as the spiritual side, as referenced in the following excerpt from my book Overcoming Anxiety, Worry and Fear: Practical Ways to Find Peace. Anxieties have a way of lying to us about what is valuable and what is not. If you find you’re confused and need some guidance breaking out of anxiety’s black-and-white-world, if you find … Continue reading →

It’s challenging enough dealing with the anxiety that lives in our minds. But when it is channeled through the body – as it always is – anxiety works us over double time. Sometimes it manifests as a tightness in the gut, or clenching of the teeth or hands. Over time, though, anxiety takes a more dangerous toll on our physical sides, from ulcers and panic attacks, to high blood pressure and heart attacks. What’s worse is when we add fuel to the fire, treating our bodies in ways that only make anxiety worse. Rita knows this all too well. Promptly … Continue reading →

For those living with chronic anxiety, there often comes a time when it just gets to be too much. You can only ride the ups and downs of anxious thoughts for so long before a sense of hopelessness creeps in. A heaviness of depression blankets every anxious thought. Paralysis sets in. Patricia’s story is a perfect example: Patricia lay in bed, dreading waking up, let alone getting up. At least in sleep she could escape for just a little while. Waking up meant gearing up, gearing up to somehow face another day. Patricia didn’t know exactly how she was going … Continue reading →

If anxiety plays a starring role in your life, it’s time to recast. You deserve the starring role. Anxiety need be little more than a subplot. Make that a cameo. No, even that draws too much attention to it. Anxiety should be one of those characters like “woman on bus” or “man reading newspaper.” You’re aware it’s there, and it serves a purpose, but once the scene’s over, you never think about it again. Certainly, this is an ideal scenario; it’s much easier said than done letting anxious thoughts go for good. But try to remember, you call the shots. … Continue reading →

Do a Google search on this topic and you’re likely to come across a ton of news stories, blogs, opinions, etc. I thought I better throw my hat into the ring, so my readers would not be left out. The person quoted the most on these various sites is Samuel Gladding, who is a professor at Wake Forest University. He offers 6 tips for helping with back to school anxiety and is summarized by Bradenton.com. The fact that these articles keep popping up on my alerts daily was funny to me, as I think I have more anxiety than my … Continue reading →

Those of us with high levels of anxiety generally respond in one of two ways. We either immerse ourselves in one “productive” task after another, or we do nothing at all. The root cause is the same – fear that we do not have control over our lives. When we scramble around manically marking things of our to-do lists, we are holding out hope that the more we get done, the closer we’ll be to control. And the more control we have, the closer we’ll be to relief from anxious thoughts and feelings. After all, once we have nothing left … Continue reading →

A classic question that is applied to a variety of situations – which came first? Sometimes the question can be answered with science, sometimes not. Some research that came out this week was able to shed some light on one of these questions – do those with anxiety self-medicate because they are substance abusers, or do those with anxiety become substance abusers because they self-medicate? At first this might seem a weird question to ask – does it really matter which came first when you are talking about people with anxiety that have substance abuse problems? The simple answer is … Continue reading →

When you’re worried, negative thoughts can get progressively louder. What starts out as a simple concern can snowball out of control, with one negative thought leading to another. Before you know it, the worry is all-consuming and the negative thoughts are all you can hear. The louder they get, the more anxious you feel. The more anxious you feel, the more intense your negative thoughts. It’s a vicious cycle and before you know it, you’re living in, on and through a channel that only plays the negative soundtrack of your life. Only you can turn down the volume. Only you … Continue reading →