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.

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I’ve been working on an ebook and today I just wanted to follow up on my initial introduction.

Today’s guest post is brought to by an Anxiety Guru reader named Emily.  She has lived with anxiety for some time now and wanted to share a few tips on how to challenge your anxiety. Do you have a story or tips that you’d like to share with the Anxiety Guru Community?  Contact me today and find out how you can help others in need of information and advice.

• Reuters reports that a new research study shows that antidepressants and Benzodiazepines can increase risk of premature birth.

• Women taking antidepressants during pregnancy increase chances of have a preterm baby by up to 5 times.
• Same risk not seen in women that started drug therapy before pregnancy or during first 3 months.
• Antidepressants on this list include Zoloft, Paxil, Prozac.
• Benzodiazepines linked to premature births include Atvian and Xanax.

No matter how hard you might try you will never be able to read minds; this despite your anxiety driven belief that you know what other people are thinking when they stare at you from across a room.

I recently spoke with a friend about this and I thought I’d write about it in the future, then I thought why wait?  It seemed like an immediate issue for my friend, it only made sense to me that there would be more people with the same problem.

Today’s guest post is brought to you by an Anxiety Guru reader named Sue. She has suffered from fibromyalgia and anxiety for over 9 years and was kind enough to share her experience in the hopes of helping someone else.  Do you have a story that you want to share with the Anxiety Guru community? Contact me today and find out how you can help others that need information and guidance.

An assumption is a mental leap you take without looking around first.  They’re also taken for granted, and it’s this easy-going acceptance of them that contributes to much of your anxiety.

I would never trash assumption itself because it serves a critical role.  It can help you make decisions when you don’t have all the facts, and also helps to remove mental hurdles that could otherwise complicate decision making.  For example, when you’re driving down the highway you have to assume, to some extent, that other drivers aren’t going to run you off the road.  By assuming this you can clear your mind a bit and not drive like a nervous wreck.

On December 30, 2009 I was on the brink of closing down the Anxiety Guru podcast.  I ended up extending the deadline because I felt so bad about having to shut things down .  But instead of just throwing in the towel, I gave my readers and listeners a chance to help and they came through in a big way.

After several hours of pounding on my keyboard I was able to resurrect the Anxiety Guru forum.  Some time ago now a spammer did a real number on it, so I shut it down temporarily.  But I think it’s been long enough and it’s now available.

After the “attack” I was a little bummed because the forum was gaining some momentum, but oh well it’s back now and I hope all of you take full advantage of it.

To answer my own question, yes I do daydream a lot.

Believe it or not daydreaming is a symptom of anxiety disorder and depression.  So chances are if you’re an anxious person you spend much of your time in la la land, fantasizing about a very cool version of yourself doing extraordinary things.  But why?