Anxiety

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Sharing – Life With Anxiety & Depression: It’s Time We Stopped Suffering In Silence
ByMikeM February 10, 2021February 10, 2021 Reading Time: 2 minutes

Similar to Clint, when I wrote about not being OK a few weeks back, I also got quite a few private messages from friends and professional contacts who are silently also not OK. But they weren’t ready to talk about it publicly and I understand that. We’ve made it entirely too difficult for most people to talk about it publicly, because we immediately start to treat someone differently when we learn that they are now, or have in the past, been dealing with mental health issues. Unfortunately, that reaction that many have to hearing someone talk about it, is because we are so uncomfortable and unfamiliar with the idea of someone talking about it. And, so the circle just keeps repeating.

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Sharing – Happy childhood? That’s no guarantee for good mental health
ByMikeM February 8, 2021February 7, 2021 Reading Time: 1 minute

This study out of Australia confirms something I’ve written about many times in regards to things like the ACE (Adverse Childhood Experiences) study: While the study reaffirmed that people who had adverse and unpredictable early life experiences had elevated symptoms of poor mental health (including depression and paranoia), it also found that children who grew…

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Sharing – Common Mental Health Advice We Should Actually Ignore Right Now
ByMikeM February 1, 2021February 1, 2021 Reading Time: 3 minutes

For example, I’m not anxious JUST because my brain is working overtime, or because I find myself focusing on the negative. I’m also anxious because over 400,000 people in the US have died from COVID-19 and a large number of people in my local area feel no need to change their behavior in acknowledgement of that fact.

You know what that is? That is reality, and there’s no amount of “good vibes” that is going to make that reality not a reality. It’s totally normal to feel anxious about that, and telling me to “think positive”, or get more sleep, or exercise, isn’t going to change that.

We all live in a very uncertain, and difficult, reality right now. The answer to social injustice and racism, again, is not just thinking positively about it. It’s having difficult, often painful, conversations about the topic. It’s about listening to other people’s experiences and working hard to understand the world differently than we did yesterday.

That too, is a source of anxiety.

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Sharing – Trying to Stay Optimistic Is Doing More Harm Than Good
ByMikeM January 22, 2021January 21, 2021 Reading Time: 1 minute

We talk often about how to support someone who is struggling, and in those conversations, we talk about spending less time worrying about what to say, and more time just being present. On the other hand, there are absolutely things you should not say, and if you find yourself starting sentences with “At least”, I want you to reconsider.

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Sharing – A new study has found being angry increases your vulnerability to misinformation
ByMikeM January 9, 2021January 9, 2021 Reading Time: 1 minute

Really, there are two things you can do to fight falling for misinformation. You could try to never be angry, but I don’t think that’s realistic. There are things to be angry about, rightfully. We can’t go through live just not feeling anything.

The thing I think we can do, and the thing I work hard at myself, is staying humble. Never assume you “know” everything, that you never make mistakes, that there is nothing more for you to learn. That’s how you fight misinformation, and it’s also really helpful when it comes to fighting negative thoughts, depression, anxiety, etc.

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Sharing – Now Is the Time to Re-Examine Stigma About Mental Illness
ByMikeM December 12, 2020December 12, 2020 Reading Time: 2 minutes

We have gotten better at discussing some mental health issues, but there’s still so much more to do. It’s still not safe for too many people to even admit they need help with anxiety and depression, even though right now we all need support. There is still a severe shortage of help available, and we still treat other mental health issues with something other than fear.

If not now, when? Those of us who can share our stories, should be doing exactly that. For all the people who can’t. And, maybe even more, we need to remind the world that these issues affect people everywhere, from all backgrounds. It’s not just Hollywood, and it’s not just on poor neighborhoods, it affects plenty of people that we probably come in contact with every day. People we know, people we love, people we work with, neighbors, friends, family, etc. are, or have been, struggling with their mental health.

Maybe once we convince enough people of that, they’ll care enough to do something about it.

Read More Sharing – Now Is the Time to Re-Examine Stigma About Mental Illness

Anxiety

Sharing – Happy childhood? That’s no guarantee for good mental health

Sharing – Common Mental Health Advice We Should Actually Ignore Right Now

Sharing – Trying to Stay Optimistic Is Doing More Harm Than Good

Sharing – A new study has found being angry increases your vulnerability to misinformation

Sharing – Now Is the Time to Re-Examine Stigma About Mental Illness

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