Up until a few years ago, I hadn’t heard of the term high-functioning anxiety. To me, anxiety was something that got in the way of functioning. It made decisions more difficult and tasks harder to complete. The idea of a high-functioning version of mental health challenges is new to me, so I decided to do some research. Today on the blog, I want to break down high-functioning anxiety, what it looks like and how we can manage it.
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I Am Not My Anxiety
This post comes on a heels of a similar post I wrote recently called “I Am Not My Depression” (you can check it out here!). A big part of my mental health journey is the way I’ve noticed that language has built up the stigma surrounding mental health, which means I’m constantly trying to find ways to break down that stigma. And just like in my recent post, I want to share why instead of saying that I’m more than my anxiety, I explicitly try to reinforce the notion that I am not my anxiety – and here’s why.
Continue readingWhy I Can’t Stand Feeling Tired
It happens to all of us often – several times a week, I get stark reminders that I’m only human. Sometimes those are conscious reminders, but many times the reminders are because of my physical limitations. Like many people, one of the biggest reminder of my physical limitations is that I get tired. I push myself physically, mentally, emotionally, etc., and by the end of the day (or few days) I am exhausted. But because of my mental health challenges, I have a lot of negative connotations with feeling tired, and it’s something I’ve come to loathe. Here’s how I figured this out – and how to figure out what’s next.
Continue readingWinding Up Versus Winding Down
Every so often, I deal with situations or moments that I’ve come to recognize as “winding myself up.” I know that it’s a pretty well-known phrase and this happens to a lot of people, but I wanted to talk about my experience with getting wound up because I think it’s a unique insight into what it’s like to experience anxiety. Even though it can be extremely easy to get myself wound up, it’s much, much harder for me to calm myself down in a similar fashion. So today I ask – why is it so much harder to get wound up than to settle down?
Continue readingFive Ways To Prioritize Rest
Earlier this week, I wrote about my upcoming vacation, which is coming on the heels of learning just how bad at resting I really am. Most of the time, my first step toward change is awareness – in the past few weeks, I’ve become painfully aware of just how poorly I prioritize rest and getting what I need for my physical health. That’s why I decided to try and five ways that can help me begin to prioritize rest – not because it’s what I want, but because I know it’s what I need.
Continue readingIf We Know There’s a Stigma, Why Is It Still Here?
When it comes to mental health, one of the things that is discussed a lot is stigma. The stigma surrounding mental health and mental illness comes up a lot in this space, and it’s something that can become impossible to ignore. But as much as people bring it up when we talk about mental health, the stigma continues to exist and cause harm to people who experience mental illness or other mental health challenges. So today I want to answer the question: if we know a stigma exists, why is it still here?
Continue readingCalming the Noise in My Head
I don’t know if there’s something I’ve written about more in the past month than my increased interest in meditation. And while I’m slowly learning what the benefits for me, a very helpful one became clear earlier this week. A huge benefit of reaching a meditative state is that, even though it’s incredibly brief, the noise in my head quiets down. But it wasn’t until it quieted down that I realized just how loud and constant the noise is in my head – and learned, yet again, how anxiety can manifest in people.
Continue readingA Breath of Fresh Air
Last week I was feeling a little under the weather, which led me to writing about the perfectionism that it brought out in me. After several days of not feeling so hot, I woke up yesterday morning feeling somewhat healthy for the first time in a while. It was, as the saying goes, a breath of fresh air – not only physically, but mentally as well. It reminded just how powerful a healthy day can be on the journey to long-term wellness.
Continue readingBreaking Old Habits and Building New Ones
After writing my post earlier this week, my mind drifted to the topic of habits. If I’m being honest, I was never too interested in forming and practicing habits. I understand their value and how they can help people improve their lives – what I didn’t like was the attitude I created toward my habits, especially in the past two years. Almost every habit I’ve created since March 2020 has been to cope with the pandemic, and it’s evolved into a mix of good habits and (mostly, in my opinion) bad ones. So how can I undo this change and reset?
Continue readingThe Challenge of Recognizing Our Shortcomings
I don’t know when I realized this, but I’m awful at compartmentalizing things. For a long time, I didn’t even know what it meant to compartmentalize things and when I did learn, I wasn’t sure how to put it into practice. It can be very frustrating to discover you’re not good at something, and that frustration can grow even more when you realize it’s holding you back from wellness in an area of your life. Here’s how I handle it, and how I deal with the challenge of recognizing my shortcomings.
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My Brain's Not Broken 