health
Declare Independence
One of the themes this month has been the role of independence in anxiety. The more agency you have over areas of your life, the less likely you are to experience anxiety in those areas. Yes, luck is involved. That’s no excuse not to seek greater independence in your
Go Camping
I know, I know. This is not the time of year to bring this up, but camping really has a way of ending my anxiety from the moment I step foot in a tent or cabin. There’s several reasons you should give this a go: 1. It’s all
Add and Remove Automations
Sometimes you can take away small stressors by automating a process. For example, these blog posts are not written day-by-day. They're written in batches, then scheduled to go out with social media alerts triggered the minute they're published. Each article is then captured, tagged, and catalogued
Paint with Light
I have no idea if painting eases your anxiety, because I have no experience in painting. But I can recommend taking up photography as a hobby. It’s such an effective anxiety killer, some people simply cannot live without it. Think about what you’re doing when you’re photographing
Quit Your Presidential Campaign
It’s a cliche´ that politicians resign or stop campaigns to “spend more time with family.” This is a lie, of course, but it’s really good advice when it comes to anxiety. Study [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21200073] after [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/
Notifications Can Go Straight to Hell
How many notifications do you need? As many as you need. I need to hear from my family and son’s teacher in case of emergency. All other notifications are costly. Some are needed to earn a living, but they still come at a cost that must be factored. If
Put "You" Away for a While
Anxiety is all about turning inward. It can be narcissistic. The more you worry, the more you worry about being worried. The only room you make for others in a panic attack is when you worry about what they’re going to think about you. I didn’t fully realize
Break Up with Social Media
Did you know that the worst social media app for your mental health is Instagram [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/05/19/instagram-ranked-worst-social-network-young-peoples-mental-health/] ? Did you know that Facebook has hired a large group of employees with backgrounds in social psychology and anthropology [https://www.cjchilvers.com/facebook-is-delusional/] to
Laugh
The second date ever with my wife, 11 years ago this month, was at Zanies. The headliner was painfully unfunny that night, but the opener (Hannibal Buress) rescued the night and seeing comedians remains one of our favorite date night plans. One of the highlights of my pre-wife life was
Cut the Stimulants
Stimulants and anxiety love each other. It’s a match made in hell. If you’re complaining about anxiety and holding a giant coffee, there’s a disconnect there. Caffeine is an amplifier of anxiety, not to mention the narcotics some take to deal with anxiety that only make it