Do You Freeze?
We Anxiety Sisters are all too familiar with the “fight or flight” response that gets activated by our sympathetic nervous systems when we perceive a threat (real or imagined). You know what I mean—the surge of adrenaline that runs through
Strategies for Managing Holiday Anxiety
One of the worst things about this time of year are all the articles I see about how to deal with anxiety during the holidays. Somehow these authors presume that I usually eat really well and exercise diligently, and they
Parenting Anxiety
As most Anxiety Sisters know, anxiety is contagious. This is quite evident when anxious parents receive unhappy calls from anxious kids spending time away from home over the summer. If you are anything like us, you want to reach into
PCOS & Anxiety (with special guest blogger Anne Poirier)
Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) is the most commonly diagnosed endocrine issue in women of childbearing age (15-44)—between seven and ten percent of women develop this condition, which is an imbalance of reproductive hormones (e.g., estrogen and progesterone). Because of this
Your Thyroid & Anxiety
My thyroid has been causing me grief since I was a child, when my neck first starting looking puffy—like I had been stung by bees on both sides. My swollen glands protruded so much that doctors used to stop my
How to Help Someone with Anxiety: A Letter to Family & Friends
Last week, we asked the Anxiety Sisterhood what you want your friends and family to know about your life with anxiety, and you told us quite a lot. We tried to put it all together in letter form so you
Anxiety Symptom: Catastrophizing
(Amazing artwork by Natalie Dee) I have a headache. The kind that’s in your eyebrows and teeth and makes your eyes water. I know it’s my sinuses. Everyone is telling me (including my own rational brain) that I have a sinus
Caregiver Anxiety
Many Anxiety Sisters ask us for tips on how to deal with the overwhelming anxiety they experience as caregivers of elderly relatives, ill spouses, children with special needs, etc. As both of us have been caregivers over extended periods of
Why Panic Makes Us Feel Like We’re Dying
Recently, we spoke with an Anxiety Brother who copes with his panic attacks by sitting in the ER—without checking in. On one hand, he knows that he is probably having a panic attack and won’t need medical attention. On the
Health Anxiety–Is This a Real Thing?
One of the most common questions we get in our inbox goes something like this: “Sometimes I get overwhelmed with anxiety because I truly believe that I have some form of cancer or another illness. I google my symptoms and