Anxiety Self-Help

anxiety panic fear treatment help psychotherapy psychiatry Dr Jonathan Haverkampf

If anxiety is significantly interfering with your quality of life, you should always seek the support of a mental health professional. While you can work on the anxiety on your own, it is usually more effective and leads to quicker results to work with someone with experience in identifying and treating various forms of anxiety. Anxiety is a very common condition – we all experience some degree of it in everyday life – and there are many tools and techniques to deal with it effectively.

Overcoming Dating Anxiety: Strategies and Tips

Dating anxiety is a common challenge that many individuals face. It can manifest as nervousness, self-doubt, and even physical symptoms like sweating or a racing heart. This anxiety often stems from fears of rejection, social pressures, and personal insecurities. However, there are effective strategies to manage and overcome these feelings. Understanding the Root of Anxiety Self-Reflection: Engage ...

Unleashing Your Inner Strength: A Guide to Building Confidence

Confidence, that intangible quality that radiates from within, is the cornerstone of self-assurance and personal empowerment. At its core, it is a feeling when we say that we feel confident. It’s the belief in oneself, the ability to tackle challenges, and the courage to embrace opportunities. While some individuals seem naturally self-assured, confidence is also ...

Understanding and Overcoming Dating Anxiety

Dating anxiety, a formidable force that can affect anyone stepping into the world of relationships, is a complex emotional state that can cause significant distress. It manifests in various forms, from nervousness and self-doubt to physical symptoms like sweating or a racing heart. This apprehension often stems from the fear of rejection, the pressure to ...

Navigating the Fear of Success: Embracing Opportunities for Growth

While it might seem counterintuitive, the fear of success is a real and complex emotion that affects many individuals. This fear stems from the apprehension of the unknown, increased responsibilities, or the pressure to maintain success once achieved. Understanding this fear and developing strategies to overcome it is crucial in pursuing personal and professional growth. 1. ...

Overcoming the Fear of Others: Understanding and Coping with Social Anxiety

The fear of other people, often termed social anxiety or social phobia, is a common and challenging experience for many individuals. It manifests as an overwhelming fear of judgment, embarrassment, or rejection in social situations, leading to significant distress and avoidance behaviors. Understanding this fear and learning coping strategies can greatly alleviate its impact on ...

Understanding and Managing Anxiety: Practical Approaches for Relief

Anxiety is a complex and deeply personal experience that affects individuals in various ways. While there’s no one-size-fits-all solution to “fix” anxiety, there are effective strategies and techniques to manage its impact and regain a sense of control over your life. 1. Educate Yourself: Understanding anxiety is the first step towards managing it. Learn about its different ...

Unraveling Anxiety: The Power of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Anxiety—a persistent, overwhelming feeling that can loom over life’s landscape. Fortunately, in the world of mental health treatments, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) stands as a beacon of hope, offering effective tools and strategies to navigate the maze of anxious thoughts and behaviors. Understanding Anxiety and Its Grip Anxiety, a prevalent mental health concern, manifests in various forms—generalized ...

Understanding Anxiety: Navigating the Waves of Inner Turmoil

Anxiety, an omnipresent yet often misunderstood emotion, manifests in various forms and degrees for individuals worldwide. It’s that knot in the stomach before a daunting task, the racing heartbeat during a pivotal moment, or the persistent worry that clouds the mind. While it’s a normal part of the human experience, anxiety can sometimes spiral into ...

Finding Relief: How to Get Help with Anxiety

Anxiety can be an overwhelming and debilitating experience, impacting every facet of life. From the racing thoughts that keep you awake at night to the physical sensations that leave you feeling drained, managing anxiety can seem like an insurmountable task. However, help and relief are available. Here are some effective strategies to navigate and alleviate ...

Understanding Anxiety: Recognizing Its Symptoms

Anxiety is a common mental health condition that affects millions of individuals worldwide. It’s a natural response to stress, triggering feelings of worry, fear, and nervousness. While occasional anxiety is a normal part of life, experiencing persistent and excessive worry that interferes with daily activities might indicate an anxiety disorder. Recognizing the symptoms of anxiety ...

Conquering Canine Anxiety: Steps to Overcome the Fear of Dogs

Dogs, known for their loyalty and affection, are often cherished companions. However, for some individuals, encountering these furry friends can be a source of immense fear and anxiety. This fear, known as cynophobia, can stem from various experiences or perceptions. Overcoming this fear involves understanding it and taking gradual steps towards feeling more comfortable around ...

Navigating Anxiety in the Context of Sexual Orientation: Understanding and Coping Strategies

Sexual orientation is a fundamental aspect of human identity, yet for many individuals, it can become a source of anxiety and stress. The complexities of societal expectations, self-acceptance, and potential discrimination can contribute to feelings of anxiety among individuals exploring or identifying with different sexual orientations. Understanding and addressing these concerns is crucial for mental ...

The Calming Power of Meditation: A Tool for Easing Anxiety

In our fast-paced and often stressful world, anxiety has become a common companion for many individuals. The quest for peace of mind and relaxation has led people to explore various methods, with meditation emerging as a powerful antidote to anxiety. Let’s delve into how meditation can serve as a beacon of tranquility in the tumultuous ...

Strategies to Successfully Manage Exam and Test Anxiety

Exams are a common source of stress for students, often leading to feelings of anxiety and apprehension. While a certain level of stress can be motivating, excessive anxiety can hinder performance. Fortunately, there are numerous effective strategies to manage exam anxiety and perform well under pressure. Understanding Exam Anxiety Exam anxiety is a natural response to the ...

Fear of Going Outside (Agoraphobia) in Children: Understanding, Treatment, and Prognosis

Ultimately, empathy and understanding create a foundation of trust and support for children coping with agoraphobia. Your empathy can be crucial in their journey toward managing and overcoming their fears. Validation of Feelings: Children experiencing agoraphobia might find it challenging to articulate their fears. Offering empathy involves acknowledging and validating their feelings without judgment. Letting them ...

Can You Fake It Til You Make It?

For those who live with social anxiety, the prospect of attending social events or interacting with others can be incredibly daunting. Even the simplest interactions can be a struggle, and many find themselves paralyzed by fear. If this is something you can relate to, you may have heard the suggestion to “fake it til you ...

5 Things Not to Say to Someone Experiencing Anxiety

When someone is anxious, it can be tempting to lend reassurance. Still, even well-intended comments sometimes hurt. This article offers several helpful points, among them are the following: Telling an anxious person that they need to get it together or that they are ‘ok’ is often not helpful. An expression of empathy for where someone is, on the ...

Fear of Failure Holding You Back?

The fear of failure is a powerful force. We can learn how to set fear aside, make bold moves, and quickly recover from the inevitable misstep when it arises.

Don’t Let Others Fear You

Throughout evolution, humans have developed a natural inclination to be cautious and apprehensive in various situations. Our minds are equipped with multiple hair-trigger systems that continuously scan for potential threats. However, if we assert ourselves and meet our personal needs, we are less likely to react impulsively towards others. Remember, cultivating self-assurance and fulfilment promotes ...

The Booming Business of American Anxiety

Americans are increasingly anxious, and a flurry of companies and opportunistic entrepreneurs aim to fill the demand for relief.

Beating the False Alarms of Anxiety

Our brain activates our body’s anxiety alarm system when it makes threat predictions. These predictions are based on past experiences, stored in memory as fear conditioning and threat beliefs. However, our threat bias often leads us to overestimate risk and underestimate our ability to cope, resulting in false alarms. Understanding and recognizing your own threat ...

Five Common Fears about Growing Older

Aging is a natural process, and many things can be done to minimize the challenges that come with it.

Gen Z Can’t Run From Anxiety

The greatest satisfaction in life comes from facing the greatest challenges.

3 Simple Steps to Unlock Your Happiness

I eradicated 35 years of fear in 7 minutes, and, through these three steps, you could do it too.

6 Steps to Overcome a Fear of Needles

Fear of needles is a widespread issue, affecting individuals of all ages. Research suggests that up to 50% of teenagers, and at least 20 to 30% of adults experience needle fear. This problem can severely limit your life, potentially preventing you from receiving vital medical care or pursuing parenthood through in-vitro fertilization (IVF). But fear ...

Cutting back on social media reduces anxiety, depression, loneliness

Researchers found college students who tried to cut their social media use to 30 minutes per day scored significantly lower for anxiety, depression, loneliness and fear of missing out at the end of the two-week experiment and when compared to the control group.

Conquer Anxiety, One Small Step at a Time

Anxiety can feel like an endless battle is going on inside your head, constant worries and fears, and ‘What ifs?’ that you can’t seem to escape. It’s like being trapped in “The Matrix” with no way out. But take comfort – there’s a way to escape. With solution-focused therapy, the authors offer simple, easy-to-manage techniques ...

Discover How Interactive Art Exhibitions Can Boost Your Mood and Reduce Anxiety

Viewing interactive art online can improve our mood and reduce anxiety. People reported significant improvements in mood and anxiety after just a few minutes of viewing an interactive Monet Water Lily art exhibition from Google Arts and Culture. The study also found that individuals with high levels of aesthetic responsiveness benefit more from online art ...

Real Health Podcast: How to beat social anxiety and build better relationships with Dr Harry Barry

Here in Ireland, we like to think we’re great at having a chat, the ‘gift of the gab’ as they say.

All About Imposter Syndrome: Definition, Health Effects, and Coping

Source: APA PsycPORT™: Psychology Newswire In 1978, two psychologists defined something called “impostor phenomenon” as an experience of feeling like an intellectual phony. The phenomenon is marked by persistent self-doubt and, often, a fear of being exposed as a fraud or imposter—even though, in reality, you’ve been successful in the very field where you feel like ...

Lessons in Stress Reduction

A new free online course has been launched to try and reduce the stress of the nation during the Covid-19 pandemic. Members of the Irish Society of Alexander Technique Teachers (ISATT) are to offer hundreds of hours of free training online to help people deal with the tidal wave of stress caused by Covid. ISATT ...

Take it from the experts, a pet can change your life

Some people should not have pets. They’re expensive and can make you sneeze. They require time, attention, and stability. If you have allergies, don’t make yourself suffer. If you travel frequently, think twice. If you simply can’t warm to the idea of an animal companion, then by all means, forget the pet. Otherwise, there are lots of ...

Health Anxiety and Beliefs About Being Weak and Vulnerable

Do you believe your survival is “barely hanging on by a thread”? You can improve health anxiety by reshaping dysfunctional beliefs.

How Storytelling Can Enhance Therapy for OCD

Telling your story can be a powerful way for you and your family to respond to OCD.

How to Help Children Cope with Anxiety

How to help your child relax and manage their anxiety.

Climate anxiety linked to lack of access to green space

Survey shows being around nature has a positive effect on mental health.

Rick Hanson: Compassion is a kind of superpower. Here’s what research says it can do.

Compassion makes us more resilient and less anxious or depressed, and it increases self-worth and happiness, research tells us.

The influences of mindfulness on high-stakes mathematics test achievement of middle school students

Research has shown that mindfulness can reduce students’ negative emotions associated with high-stakes tests and thereby improve test performance. This study explored the association between mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) and high-risk math test scores of middle school students, which is noticeably slim in the domain of mathematics education, through a mediating process involving math-specific test anxiety ...

Boost Your ‘Happy Hormones’ to Fight Sadness and Anxiety

Are you sad or anxious and don’t feel like having sex? The happy hormones stimulated by sex help to lift your spirits.

Detaching with Love and Openheartedness

A Personal Perspective: The balance between being entirely unaffected by others or being overly affected to the point of anxiety is a tricky one. These guidelines help me.

Younger people abandon smartphones for less anxiety, brain fog and mental strain

Shunning his smartphone for a “dumb” one changed the way Jose Briones engages with the world — and he likes it that way. The 27-year-old Colorado resident turns to CDs when he wants music, instead of streaming it. When he has to get someplace, he prints out directions before setting out or, if needed, falls back on ...

3 Signs Your Relationship Is Based on Loneliness, Not Love

Is it true love? Or is it the fear of being lonely or losing someone?

Are You a Life Optimizer? What to Do About Perfectionism

Perfectionism can be exhausting and anxiety-inducing. Learn how to break the cycle through a healthier assessment of the risks and rewards of perfectionism.

“Running is my therapy. It improves my confidence and makes me feel better about myself”

When a new business venture triggered stress, anxiety and depression – running and opening up about his problems helped Sha recover

How to Boost Your Courage Without Battling Your Fears

Do you want to be more courageous without having to battle your fears? Here are a few questions that can make it easier to leave your comfort zone.

The Path of Anxiety Relief

Tired of feeling anxious? Learn specific tools to help you find relief.

Surprising Ways You Might Be a Reassurance Seeker

If you struggle with anxiety, you might not even be aware of how you seek reassurance.

Try Box Breathing to Reduce Anxiety and Stress

This simple breath technique used by Navy Seals can reduce stress and anxiety and help you feel more focused and calm.

7 Signs You Have Health Anxiety

Wondering if you have too much anxiety about your health? A few warning signs can help you recognize when it’s a problem.

What You Do to Cope With Health Anxiety Makes It Worse

Do you spend an exorbitant amount of time, energy, and money on medical visits due to health anxiety? This likely makes your anxiety (and life) much worse. Disclaimer: The content of this article has not been checked or verified. Proceed at your own risk.

Local Perspectives: Singing With Stage Fright

Most of us experience stage fright. Here’s what a professional singer does to lessen performance anxiety.

Potential of Control Conditions for Nonspecific Treatment Effects in Noninferiority Trials

To the Editor Hoge et al composed a well-written and interesting study examining the effect of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) vs escitalopram for the treatment of anxiety disorders. A prominent finding was that in adults with anxiety disorders, 8 weeks’ treatment with MBSR was noninferior to escitalopram.

Is Exercise as Effective as Medications or Talk Therapy?

Moving your body significantly improves depression, anxiety, and overall health. So why is it not a front-line approach in the United States? While exercise is well-recognized as beneficial to mood and health, it is often overlooked in the initial management of these conditions. The largest meta-analytic research study to date evaluating the impact of exercise on mood ...

Optimize Your Anxiety

Worried about your career and unsure how to become valuable to others? Author and venture capitalist Matt Higgins offers some insights and knowledge. According to the Yerkes-Dodson law, a healthy amount of stress (i.e. performance anxiety) can help increase one’s performance. According to businessman Matt Higgins, being comfortable at work means you have excess capacity and you ...

Trauma-Informed Jiu-Jitsu

A Personal Perspective: Brazilian jiu-jitsu is being introduced as a means to address trauma, fear, anxiety, and addiction. In the field of psychotherapy, a current focus is helping clients get more in touch with their bodies. The body is the seat of knowledge and thus more therapists are guiding clients to, at the very least, be ...

How to Take the Power Out of Anxious Thoughts

Experiencing anxiety? Learning to step back from your thoughts can help. Taking the power out of anxious thoughts can help anxiety symptoms. One way to do this is learning to step back and observe thoughts. Being less fused and more aware of the process of your thinking can help you manage difficult thoughts more effectively.

Digital Anxiety

Do you struggle with digital anxiety? A few adjustments can make a big difference. Anxiety is a part of living, both online and offline. Keeping an anxiety journal may help to relieve stress. It may also help to limit social media and screen time and commit to non-digital self-care practices.

The Cost of Anxiety

Anxiety can negatively affect different parts of your life. Anxiety can negatively affect your relationships, work performance, and overall health. Anxiety is associated with thought patterns than can make you vulnerable to depression. Recalibrating your expectations to a more realistic level can reduce anxiety.

The Neurobiology of Anxiety

Mood and anxiety disorders are believed to stem from an imbalance among neurons in the brain’s emotional hubs instead of areas responsible for higher thought processes. They are situated in the frontal lobe, which is said to be the most recently evolved part of our brains. Furthermore, evidence shows that the brain mechanisms engaged during ...

Experience with therapists? My friend recommended an AI Therapy app but I wonder if I’m missing out on a normal one?

I’ve been struggling with general sadness, as well as depression and anxiety for a long time. I’ve been looking into finding a therapist, but have mostly had bad experiences and found out that they actually had bad reviews in general. They’re also quite expensive and given my mental state I usually want one immediately when ...

Considering Feb Fast? Here are the immediate and long-term benefits of giving up alcohol

From improving sleep quality to unmasking underlying anxiety, a booze-free month is good for your health – and it could be the gateway to longer-term abstinenceGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailThe holidays are drawing to a close, leaving only memories of end-of-year parties, and hot afternoons nursing a chilled beer or white wine. Traditionally ...

Procrastination Is Linked to Poor Mental and Physical Health

Procrastination is linked to increased anxiety, stress, pain, unhealthier lifestyles, and delays in seeking assistance for general health problems.

Frequent Visits to Green Space Linked to Lower Use of Certain Prescription Meds

People who frequently visit green spaces are less likely to use prescription medications for anxiety, depression, high blood pressure, and asthma, a new study reports.

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Is as Effective as an Antidepressant Drug for Treating Anxiety Disorders

Study reveals mindfulness-based stress reduction methods proved to be as effective as antidepressants for relieving symptoms for those with anxiety disorders.

How to use the 333 rule for anxiety

Feeling anxious? This simple trick can help alleviate some of those worries

The people making a difference: the man who set up a mental health walking group for ‘blokes’

After bottling up his own anxieties for a decade, Scott Oughton-Johnson created a group for other men who’ve felt the same. Now it’s his turn to be treatedScott Oughton-Johnson simply did not talk about his feelings. Not when he separated from the mother of his children a decade ago, and not during their subsequent custody ...

Panic 101: what to do during a panic attack – and how to prevent them

A sudden episode of intense fear leaves sufferers feeling debilitated and out of control. Practical steps can help to regain calm and avoid future attacksPanic is like a runaway train. A form of acute anxiety that quickly spirals out of control. As a psychiatrist, I try to help prevent anxiety from escalating into panic in ...

How to use the 333 rule for anxiety

Feeling anxious? This simple trick can help alleviate some of those worries

OVERCOMING SOCIAL ANXIETY BY EMBRACING UNCERTAINTY

Acknowledging Uncertainty In the 1600’s, the famous French philosopher René Descartes set out on a journey in an effort to discover truth. The question he asked was: what can one know—with certainty—is real? At the end of this philosophical journey, he came to the conclusion that there was almost nothing in life of which he… ...

Anxiety Self-Help Resources – Centre for Clinical Interventions

Make an Appointment with Dr Jonathan Haverkampf Feeling tense, stressed, and worried at certain times when under pressure is a normal human response. Everybody feels anxious from time to time. Anxiety becomes a problem when it is intense and prolonged, and when it starts to get in the way of day-to-day functioning. Below you can find ...

Top 7 Lesser Known Self-Help Strategies for Anxiety

Make an Appointment with Dr Jonathan Haverkampf Though anxiety is common, you can rise above it. Here are some uncommon self-help approaches to help you. Self-help is one of the most empowering things you can do for yourself. Even so, walking to the self-help section of your local book store, or even admitting you’re feeling anxious, can ...

Anxiety self-help guide

Make an Appointment with Dr Jonathan Haverkampf This guide aims to help you to: find out if you have symptoms of anxiety understand more about anxiety find ways to manage or overcome anxiety There are a number of conditions that have anxiety as a symptom, or have anxiety in the name – like social anxiety, social phobia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder ...

Self-care for anxiety

Make an Appointment with Dr Jonathan Haverkampf Explains anxiety and panic attacks, including possible causes and how you can access treatment and support. Includes tips for helping yourself, and guidance for friends and family. Individuals suffering from anxiety may find themselves prone to: Overthinking Planning for all worst-case scenarios Being indecisive Fearing rejection Seeking out constant communication (and getting anxious if a ...

How I learned to tame my hypochondria

Recent years have seen a dramatic rise in the number of people suffering with health anxiety. Annalisa Barbieri reveals what triggered – and eventually settled – her ‘late-onset hypochondria’Surrounded, as I was growing up, by slightly health-hysterical women (“How are you?” I once asked an aunt over the phone. “I’m on a mobile intravenous drip,” ...

POST-PANDEMIC SOCIAL ANXIETY: SIMPLE STEPS TO START LIVING AGAIN AFTER COVID

My colleagues and I have noticed a dramatic increase in anxiety and anxiety-related disorders over the past two pandemic years. While apprehension is a typical response during times of strife, as we return to more normal lives many people have been caught off-guard to realize how uncomfortable they now are in social situations – especially… ...

How to Stop Needing Everyone to Like You

What Does it Mean If You Want Everyone to Like You? Are you wondering how to stop needing everyone to like you? The need to be liked by others is a deep-seated psychological vulnerability. It’s often driven by low self-esteem and a fear of rejection. People pleasers go out of their way to avoid conflict ...

‘Anxiety is part of me’: Mara Wilson and other anxious minds on how they cope

From lavender oil to a cold martini, Bruce Springsteen to sertraline, four writers share the tools they have found to manage their symptomsOf the nine most commonly diagnosed anxiety disorders on the Mind website, I’ve been diagnosed with seven. I realise this is a peculiar boast, but in case you’re wondering – hypochondria, a legitimate ...

How to Fit In

Are you socially anxious and wondering how to fit in? Maybe you’ve just moved to a new school or neighborhood, or maybe you’ve been feeling like an outsider in your current situation. Whatever the case may be, there are some things you can do to help yourself feel more comfortable and accepted. Ultimately, the best ...

12 Tips to Overcome the Fear of Eating in Public (Guaranteed)

How to Overcome the Fear of Eating in Front of People A lot of people feel uncomfortable eating in public. Maybe you’re one of them. It’s natural to feel self-conscious and anxious when eating around other people, but there are ways to overcome the fear. The best way to overcome the fear of eating in ...

How Do You Start a Conversation with a Coworker?

What Do You Talk About With Your Coworkers? How do you start a conversation with a coworker? Many people have difficulty striking up conversations with their coworkers. They know they should do it because networking is important for their career, but they don’t know what to say or how to break the ice. Here are ...

IS YOUR INNER CRITIC TO BLAME FOR YOUR SOCIAL ANXIETY?

Picture this. You enjoyed dinner with a friend who you haven’t seen in ages. You two shared a meal and a laugh after months of not being able to coordinate schedules. Despite having a nice time catching up, negative thoughts begin to creep in on your drive home. Before you know it, you start to… ...

SOCIAL ANXIETY AND THE PAINFUL ILLUSION OF SEPARATENESS

One of the most insidious and painful aspects of social anxiety many of my clients describe is the feeling of being alone, disconnected, and different from others. These feelings, and the perceptions and beliefs associated with them, can both contribute to and be the result of high levels of distress and suffering in social situations…. ...

Exercise and Social Anxiety – does it help?

Hi, Last year we did some investigating in scientific journals about whether or not exercise can help reduce social anxiety. You can read what we found out here. The TL;DR version is that we found that exercise can help alleviate social anxiety by increasing your feel good hormones, increasing self-efficacy and by acting as a distraction. A ...