Category: Anxiety/Depression
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We Can’t Keep Treating Anxiety From Complex Trauma the Same Way We Treat Generalized Anxiety
I’ve been living with the effects of complex trauma for a long time, but for many years, I didn’t know what it was. Off and on throughout my life, I’ve struggled with what I thought was anxiety and depression. Or rather, In addition to being traumatized, I was anxious and depressed. Regardless of the difference, […]
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When Depression Makes You Feel Guilty for ‘Wasting Time’
There are so many things I could be doing right now. That’s a thought that often crosses my mind while I’m lying on my bed for the umpteenth day in a row, occasionally scrolling through my phone but mostly staring at the ceiling. Sometimes I end up falling asleep if my mind decides to stay […]
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The Dangers Of High-Functioning Depression And Anxiety
High-functioning depression and anxiety, when left untreated, pose a danger to people who experience it. It’s been 8 years since I was diagnosed with depression and 5 since I was diagnosed with generalized anxiety. For many people when I tell them, it comes as quite a shock. “Wow, you don’t seem depressed” or “I’ve never […]
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What Social Anxiety Is — Because It’s Not Just Being the ‘Quiet One’ at Parties
Social anxiety is far more than just being the “quiet one” at the party — the person who would rather socialize with the host’s dog than be the “social butterfly.” It’s all-consuming, chipping away at your confidence far before you’ve arrived at the party and long after you’ve left the drunken affair and settled in for the […]
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How To Love A Woman With Anxiety
Being a woman with anxiety comes with its own unique challenges, but for our partners, being in a relationship with us is challenging, too. Some people will run because they can’t cope, but for those strong enough to stand by us, we thank you for loving us through the struggle. This is how to love a woman […]
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My Anxiety Isn’t ‘Quirky’ — It’s Exhausting
It’s a Friday night and all of your friends are over at your place eating dollar-store tortilla chips and microwaveable cheese dip when all of a sudden, Johnny throws up in the middle of the room! Come on, duuuuuuude!! Maybe it was the marked-down cheese dip that got to him (my bad), or maybe it was […]
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27 Things People Do That Actually Mean ‘I’m Anxious’
Although people with anxiety can relate to each other’s symptoms and feelings, sometimes anxiety “comes out” in ways we would’t expect. Behaviors that don’t outwardly scream “I’m anxious” could mean just that, and it can be difficult to explain why an anger outburst or sudden need to isolate is actually because of anxiety. To get a better […]
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When Depression Makes You Feel Unloved and Unlovable
I wrote this piece while I was experiencing a particularly bad (for me) depressive episode. Thankfully it didn’t last long, but I needed to write my thoughts down (somehow I found the motivation to do this) in an attempt to make sense of them. So, I apologize in advance for how… well, depressing this post […]
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What ‘I Don’t Feel Well’ Really Means to a Person With Depression
“I can’t come, I don’t feel well, sorry!” “I’m just going to go on home, I’m not feeling well.” “I’m OK, I just don’t feel well.” Those three blanket statements are 80 percent of my vocabulary and are in 100 percent of the conversations I have with people on a day-to-day basis. By any “normal” […]
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10 Things People Don’t Realize You’re Doing Because You’re Climbing Out Of A Depressive Episode
You’ve spent the last couple of weeks in hiding; you’ve become a recluse. You spent your days sleeping, eating junk, and binge-watching the entire series of Friends (or maybe Seinfeld if’s you are one of *those* people). You’ve finally started to climb out of the darkness, though: things are finally seeming more stable. You are finally starting to climb […]