Confession: I’m anxious. In what feels like a former lifetime, I taught psychology college courses and worked as a business consultant, trainer and coach. Given my mentoring roles (and my Ph.D. in psychology) it wasn’t uncommon for a student or training participant to pul...
In some ways, I long for the days when I thought I was “just” anxious — when my anxiety simply fueled my perfectionism. Sure, I’d have plenty of late nights completing school projects at the last minute due to the weight of my own high expectations. But overall, it f...
Just imagine yourself doing daily routines and out of nowhere you feel panicky, anxious, your heart starts to race… This is what life with anxiety is like for me and many others.
Anxiety makes a lot of things more challenging, including romantic relationships. But you can have a successful relationship despite your anxiety. It just requires patience, honesty and open communication with your partner and with yourself. As the cliché goes: Comm...
Most days, anxiety affects every aspect of my life. My intrusive thoughts create insecurities that make me believe things that aren’t true, wrecking my self-esteem and changing how I act. My reaction to this is often to control every aspect of my life, so I can stop my...
As I read about other people’s stories of mental illness and recovery, I found myself frustrated by the experiences I could not relate to — the stories where people spoke of being fully healed.
There are so many aspects a job that can cause anxiety: having tight deadlines, trying to harmonize a work/life balance, dealing with office gossip and politics, meeting your supervisor’s expectations… the list goes on. Thanks to all this, most people who work will ex...
I have bipolar II disorder. And when people talk about the accompanying symptoms, they rarely mention anxiety. For me, anxiety is a large part of my condition. It spikes when I feel the most unstable—when I’m in the midst of a depressive or manic episode. And it is far less...
We learned how to get rid of you. Our doctors helped us develop ways to control you. We’re healthy and happy now.
In this episode of NAMI’s podcast, NAMI CEO Daniel H. Gillison Jr. speaks with Willa Amai (NAMI ambassador, singer/songwriter and newly enrolled Harvard student) and Angel Zhong (NAMI Next Gen youth advisor, rising senior and newly elected class president at University of ...
I still struggle with my anxiety, but it gets better. It’s hard to see when you’re in such a dark place, but there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.
Welcome to Stories of Hope and Healing. Today's episode features Brittany McGowan. Listen in as she shares her vulnerable journey of mental health. Part One this week, and Part two coming up next week, so stay tuned! In this ongoing series, we will meet a slew of NAMI membe...
When I had my baby boy six months ago I had no idea I was about to experience the most terrifying time in my life. It was a mental health crisis. When my baby was 4 months old I began to feel scared all the time. I kept my kids inside all the time because I was afraid o...
I continue to struggle daily with my OCD and anxiety. On good days I can ignore it, but on bad days it completely cripples me. I am unable to live my life the way I want to.
"I'm dying. Right here on this sidewalk. Alone. I'm going to die." That was the narrative running through my mind during my first panic attack when I was 20 years old. I had been enjoying dinner with my family at an Italian restaurant, when out of nowhere the restaurant s...
My relationship with Anxiety is like what they say about falling in love: “gradual and then all at once.” She started spending time with me when I was in college—only every once in a while—then, I slowly became more anxious as I started adulthood. With each hardship I fa...
For a long time I’ve battled with social anxiety and depression. Here’s my story in hopes that this can help someone. In hopes that this can help me.
For the most part, I really do enjoy the holidays…I just try to block out all of the many things that push me back into my shell.
You don’t come around as often as you used to and I can’t say that’s necessarily a bad thing. Ever since we met, you’ve been a weight on my shoulders that always held me down, making even the smallest things nearly impossible.
Jump To: Episode About the Host In this encore episode of NAMI’s podcast, NAMI CEO Daniel H. Gillison Jr. speaks with Willa (NAMI ambassador, singer/songwriter and newly enrolled Harvard student) and Angel Zhong (NAMI Next Gen youth advisor, rising senior an...