You may have learned that doing things, exposing yourself to feared stimuli, talking to THAT person, doing THAT thing, will help decrease your anxiety symptoms. But you feel like you just can’t do it…do the behaviors to help free you from the cycle. It’s just hard. Especially time and time again. What do I mean by exposures? Facing the fear....[ read more ]
My stomach is burning with nausea. Nothing sounds good to eat and my usual love, coffee, just aggravates the constant stomach pain. I’m tired and slow, given many days of sleep disruption, and feel like I’m going through the motions like a robot for most of my day. I don’t have a lot to contribute to conversations, since the effort...[ read more ]
This is a take-away concept from many anxiety specialists, and from professional and personal experience, it is a game-changer. The issue arises with believing the idea that all of our thoughts are real and truthful when, actually, they are not. It makes sense when you look at the brain and the way it has developed over time. As a human...[ read more ]
They often feel like they come out of nowhere. Your body responds in ways that if you didn’t know, you would think you are having a heart attack. It is why you may go to the ER- can’t breathe, are nauseated, have increased heart rate, sweat, have feelings of absolute dread and impending doom, feel like things aren’t real or...[ read more ]
You must give a presentation or have a difficult conversation with someone, and you are feeling stressed. Or something just ignited your anxiety- a fearful thought or feeling. You notice your body’s physical responses - your heart beats faster, your muscles tense, chest tightens, your breathing quickens and your stomach churns. What can you do to help yourself calm down...[ read more ]
In grief, we may become stressed due to repeated, recurrent thoughts that are related to our loss. We replay images of the person who died, or events that led up to the loss. We keep thinking “if we had only done X or if we would have done Y” maybe our loved one would not have died or left. Our...[ read more ]
Worrying about your future after a loved one has died or is no longer in your life is commonly experienced in grief. The tomorrow you had once planned together has now changed and it can be difficult to imagine a life without that person. There are so many small and not so small thoughts that come into your mind and...[ read more ]
The experience of constant thoughts of the loss continues as we grieve. These could be details of the loss itself, or memories of what life was like before the loss, or thoughts about actions we did or did not take that in our mind could have changed the outcome of the loss. Or it could be recurrent thoughts of an...[ read more ]
One thing I’ve learned from others who are grieving and in my own grief is that anxiety seems to magnify at this hard time. It manifests in many ways, and one that is particularly painful comes in the form of recurrent thoughts of the loss. These distressing thoughts play over and over again in our heads, making it hard to...[ read more ]
Leaning into Grief and Anxiety As we continue to experience personal losses from the pandemic, and witness the social unrest from heinous violent acts, grief and anxiety are present everywhere we turn. The uncertainty, lack of ability to plan and expect, loss of connection with others, loss of life for some and ability to get basic survival needs met, and...[ read more ]
