8 Ways to Have Anxiety Free Night's Sleep
Posted inAnxiety Mental Health Self-Care

9 Ways to Have Anxiety Free Night’s Sleep

Although I’ve lived with mental illness my whole life, I am not a medical professional. If you need help finding a mental health care provider, call 1-800-662-HELP (4357) or visit BetterHelp to talk to a certified therapist online at an affordable price. This post contains affiliate links. You can read my full disclaimer here.

Anxiety is a constant underlying feeling that I have. Running an online blogging business is so stressful, and I’m always thinking about how much work I have to do the next day.

To make matters worse, my sleeping schedule isn’t even consistent. Most days, it takes forever to fall asleep. Other days, I wake up in the middle of the night in a panic.

It’s such a vicious cycle, because anxiety doesn’t let you sleep and not being able to sleep only causes more anxiety. Between my anxiety and depression, I hardly ever get a good night’s sleep.

Good thing I have a list about the things you can do before bed that just might make it a little easier to fall asleep and stay asleep.

4 Side Effects of Anxiety We Like to Keep Secret
Posted inAnxiety Mental Health

4 Side Effects of Anxiety We Like to Keep Secret

Although I’ve lived with mental illness my whole life, I am not a medical professional. If you need help finding a mental health care provider, call 1-800-662-HELP (4357) or visit BetterHelp to talk to a certified therapist online at an affordable price. This post contains affiliate links. You can read my full disclaimer.

Oh, anxiety. Such a dreadful, inconvenient thing.

When I think about having to deal with anxiety the rest of my life, it can seem like a very daunting task. Especially because there are so many symptoms that are attached to it.

The common symptoms are feeling nervous or powerless. You can have an increased heart rate, and you’re most likely worrying irrationally.

But, you know what? There are a lot of symptoms of anxiety that people don’t really like to talk about. Maybe it’s because we think people wouldn’t understand, or maybe there’s a stigma attached to it. Or maybe, just maybe, some of these symptoms can feel downright embarrassing.

So here I am. I’m here to take some of the pressure out of mental health. We need to talk about it, because it’s the only way we can start to heal.

Time for me to get deep. TMI here I come.

My Struggle with Hyperhidrosis
Posted inAnxiety Depression Mental Health

My Struggle with Hyperhidrosis

Although I’ve lived with mental illness my whole life, I am not a medical professional. If you need help finding a mental health care provider, call 1-800-662-HELP (4357) or visit BetterHelp to talk to a certified therapist online at an affordable price. This post contains affiliate links. You can read my full disclaimer.

Hyperhidrosis is just a fancy word for excessive sweating. The most common places that people experience it are on the head, underarms, hands, feet, and even the groin. I’m most affected on my hands, feet, and underarms.

What people don’t often realize that hyperhidrosis is more than looking like you just ran a marathon. It is a highly embarrassing and tiring disorder that makes people very self-conscious in social situations. Many people, like myself, live with it and struggle with maintaining it every day.

My struggle with hyperhidrosis started when I was 14 during one of the first weeks of my freshman year of high school. I’ll never forget the moment when my life would be consumed by overpowering thoughts of trying not to let people see my sweat.

I was in gym class, and we were about to start a team building activity where you have to hold the hands of the two people next to you. It was then when my gym teacher said those life-changing words: “Hopefully none of you have to hold hands with anybody with sweating hands.”

That was when I noticed my hands starting to sweat. And that’s when the bullying started to happen.

How to Build Your Own Anxiety Kit
Posted inAnxiety Mental Health Self-Care

How to Build Your Own Anxiety Kit

Although I’ve lived with mental illness my whole life, I am not a medical professional. If you need help finding a mental health care provider, call 1-800-662-HELP (4357) or visit BetterHelp to talk to a certified therapist online at an affordable price. This post contains affiliate links. You can read my full disclaimer.

Ah, can you breathe in the fresh air? Or is it too difficult to even breathe right now? Well, my friend, I’ve got some news for you.

Seeing as I’ve dealt with anxiety for about as long as I can remember, I’ve concocted a personal little anxiety remedy package that has gotten me through some terrible times. I’ve developed this by recognizing what calms me down when I wasn’t even having anxiety.

That might sound counter-intuitive, but helping your anxiety is about what keeps you calm.

We all have associations to things. Your brain is funny that way, because things condition the way we think.

An example would be Disney. Disney movies make me happy. I am happy when people tell me that I look like Ariel. That makes me feel beautiful and confident. I am more free to be my little redheaded self now.

6 Things to Do When You Feel a Panic Attack Coming
Posted inAnxiety Mental Health Self-Care

6 Things to Do When You Feel a Panic Attack Coming

Although I’ve lived with mental illness my whole life, I am not a medical professional. If you need help finding a mental health care provider, call 1-800-662-HELP (4357) or visit BetterHelp to talk to a certified therapist online at an affordable price. This post contains affiliate links. You can read my full disclaimer.

My anxiety is always there, so I am no stranger to panic attacks. On a good week, I panic at least a couple times a week. But lately, panic attacks have even been occurring multiple times a day.

To keep myself from feeling like I’m going insane, I started to dive deep into the roots of my anxiety attacks. I’ve figured out what triggers me the most, and how to cope with them. I’ve built a mental checklist for myself on how to control my reaction to these attacks.

Whenever I feel an attack come on, here are the things I do to train my brain to calm itself down: