Anxiety Sisters Blog
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Abbe Greenberg and Maggie Sarachek (Abs & Mags) met in college almost thirty years ago, when they were moderately neurotic but not yet fully evolved Anxiety Sisters. Over the ensuing decades, their daily conversations sustained them through the numerous panic attacks and phobias which accompanied the milestones of their lives. Explore the blog to find tips on managing anxiety, depression and..
Anxiety Sisters Blog
1y ago
One of our favorite mantras is “I can do hard things.” Anxiety can certainly bring us to our knees, and cause us to forget our strength and resilience, but we are psychologically hardwired to persevere. Still, we all need a reminder that we have done hard things (yes, everyone has) and lived through it. If you think about it, your track record for making it through hard days is 100%!
Recently, I was quite anxious about recording the audio book of The Anxiety Sisters’ Survival Guide. I had dyslexia and speech impediments growing up, and the idea of reading in front of the studio staff and the d ..read more
Anxiety Sisters Blog
1y ago
The biggest perk of being in a large community is the tremendous wealth of resources in the form of life experience we all bring to the table. We recently asked our Facebook group to share some advice about managing anxiety, particularly during the pandemic. As always, our community responded with thoughtful, smart, and practical suggestions. The following is a sample of the responses we received:
Question Your Thoughts
As one anxiety sister said, “Your anxious brain will lie to you.” So, you have to be able to recognize and question your perceptions. Another anxiety sister confirmed this by p ..read more
Anxiety Sisters Blog
1y ago
Are you a Sensory Sister? It seems many Anxiety Sisters are. For example, if you are like Abs, you can smell odors that most of us do not notice. This hypersensitivity is great when you are trying to figure out what your teenager was up to last night, but not so terrific on, say, public transportation, which already is pretty stinky. Overall, Abs finds her super sniffer to be more problematic then not, which is why she carries lavender aromatherapy everywhere she goes.
Or maybe it’s your eyes that make you a Sensory Sister. We know several people who have to wear dark glasses, even indoo ..read more
Anxiety Sisters Blog
1y ago
We just want to start with a bit of honesty: we hate wearing face masks. They make us feel like we can’t breathe and they make our faces sweaty. Also, they scare Abs’ grandkids. So, overall, wearing a face covering sucks—a lot. Especially for Anxiety Sisters.
That said, face masks during a global pandemic are absolutely essential. Scientific models show that if 80 percent of us wore face masks 80 percent of the time, we could greatly reduce the spread of COVID-19 (and other illnesses too). In fact, one Texas A&M study revealed that, in New York, where face masks are required and compliance ..read more
Anxiety Sisters Blog
1y ago
As the world continues to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, health officials are recommending social-distancing and self-quarantine practices to slow the spread of the disease. This means, for the foreseeable future, we’ll be spending a lot more time at home. Our daily routines will shift, we’ll be without the face-to-face social contact that helps keep us feeling connected and positive, and we’ll need to adjust to this new normal.
That’s why now, more than ever before, prioritizing emotional and mental health is so important. Luckily, there are so many things you can do at home to ..read more
Anxiety Sisters Blog
1y ago
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 your body making your heart beat faster, your breathing get heavier, your body heat up, your muscles tense, etc. This revved up response occurs because your brain evaluates the danger and decides you are able to either stand up to it (fight) or get away quickly (flight). Essentially, your brain is priming your body to do battle or escape.
There is a third po ..read more
Anxiety Sisters Blog
1y ago
Lately, I’ve been noticing a bit of a social media rebellion over the term “self-care” (especially in relation to dealing with anxiety or depression). Like other trendy “buzzwords,” I have often thought that the term “self-care” is used so much in our culture that it feels almost meaningless. It seems that every activity from manicures and bubble baths to exercise and specialized diets falls under the self-care rubric.
A friend and fellow Anxiety Sister is really struggling with the whole concept. To her, self care can be watching Netflix while eating her favorite ice cream. Or it ..read more
Anxiety Sisters Blog
1y ago
I work in a public high school in New York City. That sentence alone might send a lot of anxiety sisters into a tailspin (high school + Manhattan = chaos…at least sometimes). I must admit that as an anxiety sister myself, I don’t always do the best job of making time to manage my anxiety. I know that daily meditation would do me a lot of good, but, frankly, I’m forgetful and lazy when it comes down to it.
Enter some well-timed students who are taking a class called “The Science of Yoga and Meditation.” They were looking for volunteers (including teachers) to help them with an experiment concer ..read more
Anxiety Sisters Blog
1y ago
“After years of trying everything, I finally decided to go on medication for my depression and anxiety. The first one I tried made me feel like I was climbing the walls. The second one did nothing for me at all. What medication do you think is best? I am starting to feel like nothing can help me.” Irene L.
We get emails like this all the time—like, every single day. Which makes sense because, like Irene, 50 percent of depression sufferers do not find the right medication (one that helps and has tolerable side effects) on the first try. In fact, many Anxiety Sisters we speak with are on their t ..read more
Anxiety Sisters Blog
1y ago
We know traveling can be anxiety-provoking, but come with us to a faraway land—just for a minute.
The Agora, in Ancient Greece, was the center of the action. It hosted political and civic events, the arts, and sports. Eventually, it also became the major marketplace where all sorts of things were sold and traded. It was, in other words, the place to be. And yes, it is where we get the word agoraphobia (fear of the marketplace).
I take some comfort in imagining that the ancient Greeks recognized and acknowledged that some of us struggle with fully participating in the marketplace. I definitely ..read more