The other day we had several people over for barbecue and good times, but before the soiree took place I vowed to do two things – 1. Get drunk and 2. Be alright with being drunk.

Usually I’d tell you that alcohol and anxiety just don’t mix, and I think this is still the case. Lots of people use alcohol to cope with anxiety but inevitably this leads to alcohol dependence and – ironically – more anxiety. So it really is a non-starter.

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.

In August of 1999 I had my first panic attack.  Since that time I’ve had a life filled with anxiety, worry, fear, and general apprehension.  The fact that I have anxiety is not really surprising when you think about it.  My great grandmother, grandmother and mother all had or have the condition.

As long as this blog has existed I have always encouraged my readers to exercise because whether it’s running, biking, swimming, or whatever it’s a well known fact that exercise can relieve stress and anxiety.  I’ve worked out myself off and on for some time but always in my home.  I’ve always been too self conscious to run down the street or worst yet join a gym.

Weed, marijuana, pot, hash, dope – it has a million names but I guess the most universal is cannabis so that’s the one I’ll stick with here. After alcohol, nicotine and caffeine it is the most commonly used drug. Indeed over one hundred million Americans have tried it and twenty five million in the past year. And why not? It’s not physically addictive, it can relax you and can cause euphoria. It can turn you into the world’s greatest philosopher!

Many anxiety sufferers really do suffer because of a potential chemical imbalance, heredity, excessive stress, substance abuse, or other mental ailments.  However, there is a group of people that have an anxiety disorder caused by an actual medical condition.  In some people there really is a phyiscal basis for their anxious suffering and this is why regular medical screenings are important.

It’s often said that the anxiety sufferer is his own worst enemy and in a sense that’s true. If you’ve ever just listened to what the voice in your head is saying to you, without you even realizing, you’d be pretty amazed.

You ever sit up in bed from a restful sleep and then immediately start scanning your brain for anxiety and sources of worry?  I have and I’ve done so plenty of times.  I seriously doubt that this is intentional on our part, it’s more of a habit you see.  A habit which can unfortunately throw a wrench into our entire day.

After 10 years of not being able to rid myself of anxiety I’ve learned a lot.  And perhaps one of the most significant lessons I’ve learned about anxiety is that much of my own anxiety is self inflicted and habitual.  It sucks to say but it seems to me that at times I’m my own worst enemy.