When you get involved in a serious romantic relationship with someone, it’s practically inevitable that you become a support system for your partner. The tricky part, however, is dealing with the skeletons that come out of your partner’s closet, and your own for that matter. For me, my skeletons consisted of anxiety, panic attacks, and depressive episodes. Like many other … [Read more...]
The Hardest Part About Parenting a Teen with Anxiety
I’m not writing to evoke your sympathy. I know that virtually all the contributors in this amazing community are teens. So what do I hope to get from this post? I would love for some parents to step up and start writing about the experiences with the anxiety in their teen’s life. Let’s talk about how to help her/him. Let’s ask the questions where the answers are not so obvious. … [Read more...]
The Culture of My Anxiety: An Indian Girl’s Story
I am sitting in my third grade classroom on a rainy day, as my favorite teacher is reading to the class. Everything is great. I have a wonderful family and wonderful friends. I am contentedly listening to Mrs. Thompson’s calming voice as she reads us a section of a chapter book. I love reading books and listening to stories. But the sudden quickening of my heart and blood … [Read more...]
The Stigma Has Been Amplified
I’m going into this article timidly, as I don’t know how it is going to turn out or what exactly I’m hoping to say, but I do know that I want to, and feel driven to, talk about this. It's time we talked about the recent Florida shooting and its relation to mental illness; and no, this isn’t the tired old discussion or argument that you’re probably thinking it will be. I’m … [Read more...]
When I Met Ed: My Eating Disorder Story & Recovery #NEDAwareness
I first met Ed (a figure widely used by specialists and therapists to represent an eating disorder as a character/concrete presence) in 2003 when I was in 8th grade. He convinced me that the way I looked did not match up with the standard of the other girls in my grade, and society. Every magazine and TV show I watched depicted the same type of skinny girl, and she always … [Read more...]
Help for OCD in Teens: AiT Exclusive Interview with Author Alison Dotson
Welcome to another awesome AiT Exclusive Interview, this time with Alison Dotson, author of Being Me with OCD: How I Learned to Obsess Less and Live My Life! Join us as we talk through her book, her personal journey with OCD, and advice share has for young adults struggling with OCD. AiT: You had, of course, experienced OCD yourself. Sharing about OCD isn't exactly easy, … [Read more...]
7 Practical Tips to Manage Your Stress and Anxiety
Life gets stressful! Things start to pile up, you get busy, and sometimes it can get difficult to manage everything going on in your life. As a student, it seems like anxiety and stress are things that just come with the territory. Any yes, that may be partly true, but there are ways to manage this stress and anxiety. I’m going to give you some self-care tips that I try to … [Read more...]
Losing and Letting Go: How to Expect the Unexpected
Learning how to lose things is a vital part of growing up. We learn how to lose when we are playing games, because we are taught early on that not everyone can win everything. We are even taught how to be graceful in our losses, so that no one thinks we are “sore losers” or “bad sports”, as if those labels were comparable to being “thieves” or “criminals”. We learn to shake … [Read more...]
Typical vs Ideal Parental Responses to Anxiety: Helping Your Teen with Anxiety
As a young adult who has struggled with anxiety personally, I'd like to share with you some way you can effectively help your teen with anxiety. First and foremost, parental support and assistance at all times were crucial to my recovery from severe episodes of anxiety. That constant fear of experiencing another anxiety attack was always present, but the even greater fear was … [Read more...]
Parents, You Have to Be OK First: How to Help Your Teen With an Eating Disorder
“My eating disorder had become my best friend, my soulmate: to have and to hold, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, till death do us part.” The words floated from my mouth, coating the room in the potency of my hardships. It was the first time I publicly spoke about my recovery. All of the emotions I wrestled, all of the thoughts I braved, and all of the pain I … [Read more...]
Stressed, Excited, Anxious? How to Tackle Back to School Anxiety
Happy New Year! With the new school season (or new semester) upon us, it is easy to feel overwhelmed and anxious about what the year has in store for us. Without a doubt, we all have changes that we must deal with. Whether it be new classes, new people, new professors and teachers, and maybe even new jobs or new cities. With all this change coming our way, and a certain … [Read more...]
AiT Exclusive Interview: On-Demand Video Therapy with LARKR
As we head into the new year, I’m particularly excited about how advanced mental health technology and innovation continue to advance and how the entire eco-system is becoming more accustomed to using such innovations and technology. Today, I’m pleased to welcome the LARKR team to an exclusive AiT interview! Join us as we cover the latest in offer access to quality mental … [Read more...]
Finding a Light in the Darkness: You Already Have All the Magic You Need Inside
Magic is an integral part of every child’s life; whether it is Tinkerbell’s pixie dust or the manifold of colors in a sunset, magic can be found anywhere. For me, the most magical place in the world was the world of wizard’s- the world of Harry Potter. Harry and his friends always supported one another and continued on their journey in the midst of fear; these characters … [Read more...]
Exclusive AiT Interview: Stephen Smith, Founder and CEO of nOCD
Get ready to join us for another great interview with a mental health innovator and changemaker! Stephen Smith is Founder and CEO of nOCD, a mobile app aimed at helping people manage their OCD symptoms with evidence-based exposure exercises and tools for providers to assist patients. AiT: You have struggled with OCD personally. What was the hardest part for you in terms of … [Read more...]
Me Telling You
When I was little it would come to me like a mysterious invisible monster. Usually when I was dozing off to sleep, alone with my thoughts in quiet, the thumping got louder and louder. The monster drew closer. It was closing in on me, and when I felt that it would in fact become lifelike - that I could reach out and touch it, or worse yet, it could touch me - there were only … [Read more...]