There are a lot of anxiety myths out there. In my last blog post, I dispelled 3 of them. Here are the final 4. Myth: Thought stopping (or replacing, suppressing) is an effective anxiety management technique. I think these were techniques used in the 80’s or sometime, because I still get the random client who...
There are a lot of anxiety myths out there. In my next 2 blog posts, I dispel 7 of them — and give you better solutions for dealing with excessive worry or anxiety. Myth: Anxiety is bad. Anyone who’s been reading my stuff knows the answer to this one. False! Anxiety is neither good nor...
Well, this has been a pretty shitty year, hasn’t it? I’m hard-pressed to find a silver lining, but I do feel moved when my clients say things like “having worked on my anxiety helped me face this situation so much better than my friends and family” or “for once, I am the one coping, and...
If you haven’t gotten this question yet as a parent, I’d bet it’s coming. Parents are more anxious, and so are kids. Remember that you can’t control your own anxious thoughts and feelings let alone those of your child. They’re going to happen. What you can do, however, is respond to your child in ways...
Most of us have heard of Post-Traumatic Stress, but not as many of us are aware of Post-Traumatic Growth. It’s a theory that explains a transformation that can happen after experiencing trauma. Developed in the mid-1990s, by psychologists Richard Tedeschi, PhD, and Lawrence Calhoun, PhD, Post-Traumatic Growth “…holds that people who endure psychological struggle following...
I really don’t get people whose temperament isn’t naturally anxious — who now call me and say things like “Wow, Joanna. I now know what you’ve been talking about all these years when you describe waking up anxious” or “not being able to stop the worry.” I feel like I was born anxious. I’ve always...
You know that feeling when you read something at just the right time, and everything makes sense? I love those moments. This is exactly what happened to me the other week. Apple+ News suggested an article that made sense of the shit in my head. (That quarantine indulgence paid off!) Lately, as more things are...
Now that the gradual reopening is upon us, it’s interesting to see the continuum of responses. From elated to cautiously optimistic to downright terrified, how ever you’re feeling, that’s ok. It makes sense, after all, to have some worry about this next phase — there are still so many unknowns out there. While we can’t...
As we navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, we’re navigating through an uncertain and stressful time. People are going to have various reactions. Given my experience, I have this anecdotal sense that when under this kind of stress, we become more of what we are. If someone’s temperament runs on the anxious side pre-pandemic, it’s going to...
Last month, I posted (on Instagram) some reminders for those dealing with excessive worry or anxiety right now because of COVID-19. As the situation continues, even those who don’t normally deal with anxiety may be feeling it. It’s important to know that one, you’re not alone. The situation is triggering a lot of people. And...