Today I want to introduce you to a single concept. It's called externalization. In my view, learning externalization techniques can set you on a new path. One that leads far, far away from high anxiety. See, when you have really bad anxiety it's common to assume that you and your anxiety are one and the same. For example, people often say things like "I'm such an anxious person." If this is the narrative that you have adopted then over time it becomes hard to tell where you start and where anxiety ends. It makes anxiety feel embedded. This is
Archives for September 2015
How I Tamed the Anxiety Beast
I don’t remember struggling with anxiety growing up. Looking back, there are few signs and moments that pointed towards what would later grow into a beast. I was social without hesitation, very outgoing, and not afraid of new places or speaking up in public. I don’t remember even knowing what the words panic attack meant. The Beast Is Born Flash forward to college. The anxiety beast found its roots in my long-term highly abusive relationship. I was eighteen years old and in love with a nightmare. The domestic violence I experienced involved
The Problem With Modern Psychotherapy
Over the past 100 years clinicians and researchers have worked hard to improve what we call psychotherapy. Many of those improvements have led to standardization and improved outcomes. Nowadays, everything is "evidenced based" which is, of course, a good thing. Yet there remains a huge problem in mental health, and it isn't the hundreds of models of therapy that are now available. Rather, it's the large proportion of people delivering these interventions that suck at their job. Now, to be fair, there are many talented people providing mental