What neuroscience can teach us about lowering anxiety
If coronavirus has disrupted your usual daily rhythm and kept you indoors, it’s totally understandable if you’ve been feeling a bit more anxious lately. The good news though is that neuroscience can offer some non-pharmaceutical, research-backed ways to mitigate anxiety. Let’s see what the Read More...
5 ways to bring some ease to your anxious teenager
Teenagers are overwhelmed with emotions that they don't understand. Uncertainty and insecurity plague them. Add to their struggles a daily dose of social, sexual, and academic tension, and in a single day, teenagers may experience euphoria, crushing hurt, overwhelming anxiety, or deep despair. No Read More...
How to get your mind to stop overthinking
Human beings’ boundless quest for answers is an attempt to master problems before they arise and feel a sense of certainty. It’s a survival tactic. It’s not a problem when, let’s say, your job requires you to think of every possible outcome of a situation to determine what could happen Read More...
Addressing anxiety: how to be a resource for someone who is struggling
Anxiety is the most common mental health problem in the U.S., so we at the Optimist Daily are big on sharing stories on stress reduction, from foods that help to meditation methods. If you have never experienced anxiety yourself, it can be difficult to understand what a friend or family member is Read More...
Doctors are prescribing houseplants as treatment for depression and anxiety
It is no secret that houseplants have all kinds of benefits to offer their owners. Beyond their cheerful demeanor, they provide many helpful assists, like increasing oxygen levels, helping stave off illness, cleaning the air, boosting healing, nudging creativity, and relieving stress – among Read More...
The taming tool: a simple way to help you overcome anxiety
You can’t rewire your brain to stop feeling anxiety at once, but you can use a simple tool to help tame your anxiety once you feel it coming. That simple tool has a fitting name: the taming tool. But before we dive into what the taming tool is, let’s understand anxiety better. Anxiety is a Read More...
Feeling anxious? Here are five natural ways to lower anxiety
Contrary to what most people think, stress and anxiety are very different conditions. Anxiety precedes a potentially undesirable circumstance. Therefore, anxiety produces stress. This makes anxiety anticipatory and means that reducing anxiety can prevent future stress. While there are many causes Read More...
Feeling stressed? These 3 practices will help you let go
Too much stress can have terrible consequences on both your mental and physical health, but what we don’t often realize is that many of the things we stress about don’t deserve all that anguish. Instead of letting those things drive you crazy, sometimes it’s better to just let go of the Read More...
Feeling anxious? These 7 books can help soothe your mind
If you experience anxiety, you’re not alone. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, one in three young people are affected by anxiety. There are many ways to cope with bouts of anxiousness, such as exercising, meditating, and journaling. And while reading may not immediately come Read More...
Why worrying is futile and how to turn your back on it
Though a natural response to misfortune, worrying doesn’t bring anything but anxiety and distress. Being worry-free in the face of adversity is an attainable goal. However, we must first acknowledge the futility of this tormenting emotion. If you have a hard time getting your worries out of your Read More...