Today’s guest post is brought to you by Dan Stelter of Anxietysupportnetwork. Does social anxiety make you feel lost some times? Like you just don’t fit in anywhere? Dan’s article is a great starting point for you if you’ve ever felt this way in the past. Dan has a lot of useful insights about social anxiety on his site and I’m glad that he was willing to share some of those ideas with us here.

This is a 20 minute documentary video that follows the story of three people with panic disorder. The video is a little dated and somewhat cheesy, but the information it contains is up to date and useful.

It’s kind of hard to find good media about anxiety disorders, so I was glad to find this video and make it available to you. The bottom line of this short video is that panic disorder can be crippling, but it is also highly treatable.

Criticism sucks. There just isn’t any other way of saying it.

For anxiety sufferers dealing with criticism is especially hard, because it seems to arouse our worst fears about being judged or belittled.

And it’s not like being sensitive to criticism is unique to people with anxiety, it’s just that many of us – like so many other things – react to it fiercely. For example, when I graduated from University and got my first “real job” I wasn’t prepared for the rough and tumble world of corporate style criticism. My first reaction was almost always anger and resentment. But why do so many of us react this way?

The day has come. After nearly four months of research, writing, and revision I’m happy to announce that my Special Report
How to Stop Anxious Thinking is now available.

I’ve created an information page that you can visit to get a real clear picture of what you can expect from my Special Report, so I won’t rehash every single detail in this article. However, I do want to give you some background and a few highlights.

About two weeks ago I was watching a t.v. show on the History channel about American prisoners of war and it got me thinking.

One of the most poignant moments in the show was when one of the former prisoners was talking about how his experience had helped him. He said it helped him to know himself better, he learned to deal with adversity, and if he had to do it all over again he would.

In celebration of my soon to be released Special Report How to Stop Anxious Thinking I’ve decided to run a competition.

To enter the competition all you have to do is submit a short story describing your most memorable triumph over anxiety. Whether it was overcoming panic, public speaking, or extreme nervousness in any number of situations. Be creative.

In one week I will select the winner and give that person a free copy of How to Stop Anxious Thinking and publish their entry on Anxietyguru.net.

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Being Optimistic doesn’t just mean forcing yourself to have positive thoughts. It means being hopeful and open to the future. It’s a mind set that can help you cope with anxiety.

If you’ve been pounded by the ravages of anxiety then chances are that you’ve had to contend with fear, depression, and pessimism. You may have had days were you just felt like giving up. You may have also told yourself that you just can’t take it anymore. Or am I just talking for myself?

There are many ways to treat an anxiety disorder. Some people use drugs, yoga, acupuncture, vitamins and the list goes on. But did you know that drinking tea can help relieve anxiety?

Tea contains a unique anxiety reducing amino acid called L-Theanine. The irony is that tea has roughly half the caffeine of coffee. Nonetheless, people that drink tea often say that they get a calming effect after having a cup.

Somehow, after 10 years of living with anxiety, I’ve managed to stay off of medication.  But, for better or for worse, that’s not the case for most people with anxiety and depression.

In fact, researchers believe that up to 10% – or about 30 million people – in the United States alone use an antidepressant. There are also millions more around the world that use antidepressants, beta blockers, sedatives and sometimes even a combination of these drugs to help themselves them cope with their anxiety and depression symptoms.

Are you Depressed?

Let’s face it, for most of us depression is part of the “anxiety package.”

This is no surprise given all the emotional ups and downs that anxiety yanks from our souls.

I guess that’s just part of living an anxious life.

But, because anxiety and depression tend to come joined at the hip, it’s not something you can – or should – ignore.  Like anxiety, depression can affect your thinking, self-esteem, and of course your health.