Q: Someone who lives with me has their gf over. The guy and his gf go off with someone I don’t know. Each time they come back, she starts flailing around and making weird noises and asking invisible people to help her. She claims it’s just a panic attack. So…
Throughout our lives, we will all face certain amounts of anxiety and fear. However, when anxiety and fear begin to control someone’s life, even keeping them from going to different places or participating in certain experiences, therapeutic intervention may be necessary. When someone is plagued by intense anxiety in safe,…
Anxiety is a common and natural human response that can sometimes become overwhelming—impacting our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. It’s that flutter of unease before a big event or the cautious concern for a loved one’s well-being. However, for some, anxiety takes on a life of its own, leading to persistent…
How many of us have felt suddenly unwell for a time, and out of concern, googled our symptoms? Later on, when we’re better, we might feel a little bit embarrassed that we were so concerned—maybe our mysterious symptoms were all in our heads. Experiencing this fear of illness or disease…
Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) will affect nearly seven million adults in the U.S. each year. Individuals with generalized anxiety disorder often have difficulties controlling even the most mundane of daily worries. They may worry more than is realistically necessary about actual events or expect the worst outcome when there seems…
Fear is built into our biology. In fact, it keeps us safe — alerting us to danger and saying, “Hey, you need to be careful.” A phobia, on the other hand, is an excessive or irrational fear. If you experience intense fear and anxiety in public, open, or enclosed spaces—such…
As toddlers and young children, we quickly and naturally form strong emotional bonds with our parents or caretakers. As a result, being apart from them at an early age is often accompanied by a level of anxiety. These feelings of distress are a normal stage of childhood development—but sometimes, our…
Most of us aren’t exactly thrilled about having to give a presentation to our entire company. We might feel slightly awkward having to make small talk with a stranger. Perhaps we get the jitters before a blind date. But we’ll still complete that presentation, engage in chit-chat, and go out…
Imagine that you’re going about your morning as usual – making coffee, feeding the cat, tidying the bedroom – when your chest starts to hurt. The pain quickly mounts. Within minutes you’re drenched in sweat and you feel as if you’re suffocating. You close your eyes and try to take…
We often use “stress” and “anxiety” interchangeably, to describe intense worry or emotional distress. But in reality, there are distinct differences between the two—for example, one is considered a healthy emotion that can be beneficial, while the other is considered an unhealthy emotion that is all-around harmful. Let’s explore these…
Anxiety and anger are common emotional states that many of us experience—sometimes daily. But when we’re unable to manage the intensity of these emotions, they might transform into chronic issues. This means that it’s important to think through the causes of anxiety and anger, as well as how to prevent…
As one of the most well-known medications used to treat anxiety and depression, Prozac is almost a household name at this point. And for good reason; along with therapy, taking medications such as Prozac for anxiety is often a successful way to treat the challenging symptoms of many anxiety disorders. …
