Is there something inherently wrong with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders? Yes. It's bloated. Some people think that mental disorders don't exist, and that some people are just misunderstood. Well, I don't buy that line of thought. The reality is that some people do have mental problems, and they are different, but not because they're a little kookie or eccentric. They have serious underlying genetic, or other issues, that keep them the way they are. The DSM's job is to help psychiatrists classify the various
How to Stop Heart Palpitations
Heart palpitations. Don't these two words make you shudder with anxiety? Well, maybe the words don't, but the sensations caused by heart palpitations certainly do scare people. In fact, it's the main topic of emails that I get from people who contact me with questions. And given that this anxiety symptom is so common among anxiety sufferers, I thought it would be helpful to do a "how to" article on palpitations. First, a few basics. A heart palpitation is an abnormal beating of the heart AND your heightened awareness of your heart
How to Stop the Mind Shift
The mind shift is the switch from normal thinking to saying to yourself something like, "oh no!" or "I'm going to die!" It's the dividing line between regular thoughts and panicked thoughts. It's easy to recognize this shift in thinking, and once you do it well, it can help you to reduce and shorten your bouts of anxiety and panic. This mind shift happens fast, and many times it happens so fast that you seem to fall into a panic state without even knowing how it happened. That's why you'll often hear people say that they were doing
The Top 100 Things You Should Know About Anxiety Disorders
Over the course of a decade you can learn a lot about anything. You can become an expert at car repair, kitchen remodeling, hair styling, or in my case you can learn all about anxiety. Since 1999 I have been battling anxiety non-stop and as a result I've learned a thing or two about this topic (I've recovered since then). Many of my thoughts on this issue are short thoughts or blurbs that I've collected over the years and for no particular reason I wanted to jot them down. I can't possibly recall everything but here is a good chunk of
What Do You Want To Know About Anxiety?
The vast majority of my stint as an anxiety sufferer has been spent in utter confusion about what the hell was wrong with me. It took me years of searching, reading, asking, and probing before I got a clue. Going to my primary doctor wasn't always the best information session because the doctor's reaction was to give me a drug and call it a day. The therapist I've seen never really saw me look or act nervous so they figured I was fine. Therapist: "So you don't want to hurt yourself or others?" Me: No. Therapist: "So you get nervous, have
Here’s An Effective Way To Lower Your Anxiety
Over the life of this blog I have talked a lot about how changing your thinking can lead to less anxiety. But what does 'change your thinking' even mean? Today I want to talk about a specific thing you can do (or think) to achieve the goal of less anxiety. Have you ever heard people say that we should all try and live in the present? Of course you have but who cares right? Well not really, because this simple old school saying (like most sayings) is true and effective. It's just that people hear sayings like this so much that they tend to
The Secret To My Semi Success
One of the biggest problems I had with unmasking my anxiety disorder and managing the related symptoms was tied to my utter ignorance about anxiety disorder(s) itself. The good news is that if you are reading this post than clearly you have some clue as to what's bothering you. But don't stop there because knowing is just half the battle (yes that is a line from G.I Joe). I really didn't know what I had back in 1999 when anxiety first struck me. I was confused, afraid, and worst of all I had no idea what was wrong. This leads me to the first
Discover How To Prevent Panic
Panic attacks can exact a devastating toll on your body and mind. For this reason it is critical that anxiety sufferers not only look for detailed descriptions of their problems but also for solutions to their problems. In this guest podcast by Alex Taylor of Preventyourpanic.com Alex explains the roots of anxiety and how you can learn to prevent panic attacks. Alex offers far more than the "just get over it appraoch" and I think Alex has discovered some very interesting, sensible, and effective ways of looking at anxiety, fear, panic,
What is Anxiety Disorder?
What is Anxiety Disorder exactly? According to Wikipedia "Anxiety Disorder is a prolonged physiological and mental state characterized by cognitive (mind), somatic (physical symptoms), emotional (feelings), and behavioral abnormalities." It is also "characterized by long-lasting anxiety that is not focused on any particular object or situation." Translation, Anxiety Disorder is a state of worry and fear that is generated by your nervous system, which regulates things like touch, hearing and sight. It can be triggered by heredity, a
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