When life hands you one stressful thing after another, you’ve got to empty the stress jug. Anne Marie Ruta Buchanan, an anxiety therapist in Orange County, CA can help you figure out what you can do to manage the overwhelm and problem solve what to do next.

When we experience symptoms of anxiety, we may begin doing behaviors that we depend on in order to minimize symptoms. It can help temporarily but actually reinforces the idea of threat in the brain. What safety behaviors are you doing that contribute to your anxiety?

Doing exposures to overcome anxiety symptoms is hard work. with perseverance and the attitude of “willful tolerance” you can live a less restricted life.

Grief makes body movement very difficult. Many people just have no motivation or desire to move for daily functioning or for health or leisure. Know you are not alone, and learn how to help yourself rejoin the moving world with self acceptance and patience.

Doing exposures to feared situations can help decrease anxiety symptoms. But it is really hard. Learn about the timing and level of doing activities that activate your anxiety so you can teach your brain that you do not need to fear the perceived threat.

Break- ups from relationships are extremely painful. The grief reactions are strong. Ruminative thinking, difficulty concentrating, head and body aches, tearful outbursts are challenging to manage. Some things can help ease the suffering.

When a pet dies, grief reactions can be very strong. Self compassion, self care, and loving support from community is necessary to cope with the mental, physical and emotional challenges that arise from this painful loss.

Anxiety and procrastination go hand in hand. It’s tough to get some things done, and when you put them off, the anxiety grows. Leaning into the anxiety of doing things may help you take a step in the right direction.

Grief and loss over 2024 election results can manifest in many ways as one begins to process the outcome.

Procrastination that accompanies anxiety can keep us from doing things we need to do. Exploring the issue and making realistic plans can help you move forward and get things done!

Coping with losses from the pandemic