Worry

It seems as though anxiety picks the worst times to torment us. But it’s important to recognize that the content of worries, panic, or OCD changes as our lives change.

In recent years, it seems like each presidential election leaves around half the country feeling anxious about the next four years. If you’re in that half following the recent election, know that there are a lot of things you can do to manage anxiety in a healthy way.

Election Day has come and gone. However, given the polarization that accompanied this election, it’s not unlikely that you may be experiencing a variety of emotions and thoughts.

No parent wants to make things worse for their child, and certainly not when they’re already struggling with mental health symptoms, but explaining what is causing a child’s inner havoc and distress or outer symptoms can be a relief. It can separate the child from the symptoms.

When our children ask us the big questions, such as “Why?” or “What are we going to do?” after a flood, earthquake or hurricane has destroyed their home, community or disrupted daily life, adults can get stuck thinking that they must provide an explanation for the unexplainable.

Lately, I’ve been noticing the ways that, despite decades of studying worry, my mind can trick me into a ruminative spiral by telling me I am planning or preparing rather than uselessly worrying.

How can we process inconceivable events and go about living our day to day lives? As a trauma and anxiety therapist, I am here to tell you that while it is extremely difficult, it is possible. Here are some suggestions for how to cope during these difficult times.

You could not be happier for your child/nibling/client. They’ve finally made it to grade 12 and have been wanting to leap into their future for ages. You thought now would be a quiet and calm few months as they wait to hear back, but instead it seems as though their anxiety is reaching new heights. Should you be concerned?

In conjunction with the recent webinar "Holiday Parenting Q&A: Coping with Stress and Anxiety", psychologists Colleen Cummings, PhD, Susan Wilson, PhD, and Nina Shiffrin Starin, PhD, provide their top 3 tips for parents to help cope with stress and anxiety during the holidays.

Disastrous news gets delivered in a highly emotional way – often on purpose – and while having strong feelings for the victims of war, floods, earthquakes, mass shootings or horrific accidents is justified, we also have to be logical and in tune with our own emotional processes when interpreting the news.