Much of our lives are governed by habit, and sometimes the habit of anxious avoidance. What we do when we wake up, when we go to work, how we work, what we eat, even who we spend time with. We learn these habits in part because we identify actions that make us feel good and then repeat them. Habits are also formed because of the negative outcomes we associate with actions, and anxiety is just about the best habit creator we have.

Social media and anxiety have a relationship although we're not quite sure what it entails. Tell me if this sounds familiar to you: You're at work, at home, or on the train between the two, and you pop onto social media. You go down the rabbit hole, and 15 minutes later you realize you've been immersed in this virtual platform without noticing the time passing by. And strangely, despite feeling fine during this immersion, you find yourself feeling worse after you're finished. You're likely experiencing the relationship between social media and anxiety.

Did you know that you can use your diet to reduce anxiety? Certain lifestyle and diet changes can reduce your anxiety when other strategies haven't completely worked for you. Even if you've created a calming space in your home, you've slowed down your anxiety, and you've cultivated self-kindness, using your diet to reduce anxiety may be the one thing you're missing.

Did you know you can short-circuit your anxious thoughts? You can, and I'll tell you how.

You can cultivate a positive outlook without also creating expectations that cause anxiety. Have you ever felt so worried about something that you couldn't focus on your family, friends, or work? For me, the answer is certainly yes -- especially when I'm thinking about something I really want to happen. I've found myself thinking a lot about expectations, specifically how my expectations increase my anxiety and make it harder for me to focus on the present. For graduate school, I have a lot of expectations for myself, involving grades, developing research, and cultivating relationships. And although in some ways it is beneficial to have expectations, ultimately, they engender a narrow perspective that ignores a host of positive outcomes. 

If you’ve ever wondered about the cause of your morning anxiety, you’re definitely not alone. I had only guessed at the reasons I feel anxious when I get up in the wee hours of the morning. But recently, someone asked me for insight into why she feels anxious in the morning going to her workouts. I did a little digging and I want to share some factors that may cause morning anxiety.

What is anticipatory anxiety? If you’re struggling with anxiety over the anticipation of an upcoming situation, you’re experiencing anticipatory anxiety and you're not alone. Most of us face anxiety about future events at some point or another. Sometimes it’s mild and other times it may feel downright debilitating. I’ll share with you some key steps I take to cope with anticipatory anxiety.

Sensory overload anxiety can be a real problem for highly sensitive people (HSP). While not all highly sensitive people face intense anxiety, it’s common for highly sensitive people to experience sensory overload anxiety from common, everyday occurrences. But with the right anxiety coping skills, we can better prepare and cope with the challenges of living as a highly sensitive person with anxiety.

Anxiety relief exercises often draw your attention to the anxiety itself. But this one uses your body as a resource to calm anxiety (Ignore Anxiety–Pay Attention to What Anxiety Is Not). Your body is one of the most important resources you can use to treat anxiety. What does it really mean to use the body as a resource? Learn more and try this anxiety relief exercise.

Mindful eating habits are one of the simplest ways we can reduce anxiety. Food is one of the most fundamental ways we nourish our physical and mental health. But it’s not just what we eat, but how we prepare and consume our food. Given that we eat daily, mealtime is the perfect opportunity to practice mindfulness tools that can help ease anxiety.