If you’ve ever found yourself lying awake at night wondering whether what you’re feeling is anxiety or stress, you’re not alone. I remember sitting in my car after a particularly exhausting workday, heart racing, palms sweaty, thinking, “Is this just stress… or something more?” It’s a question many of us wrestle with, especially when the…
There’s something incredibly frustrating about trying to relax—maybe after a long day or in the middle of a quiet moment—only to notice your shoulders are practically glued to your ears. Your neck aches, your jaw feels like you’ve been chewing rocks, and your lower back? Yeah, forget about it. I used to think it was…
If you’ve ever stared at your screen at 2AM, eyes heavy but mind racing, wondering if what you’re feeling is just exhaustion—or something deeper—you’re not alone. I’ve been there. For the longest time, I brushed off the knots in my stomach, the constant sense of dread, and even the unexplained irritability as “just stress.” It…
I never expected to be the kind of person who brought an extra shirt everywhere—but here we are. What started as a little nervousness in job interviews morphed into full-blown episodes of anxiety-induced sweating. Not just a light dampness—I’m talking drenched back, palms slippery like soap, and forehead shining like I’d run a marathon. It…
For years, I didn’t have a name for what I was feeling. It wasn’t just nerves or stress. It was the kind of anxiety that crept in before anything even happened. I’d lie awake the night before a simple meeting, stomach in knots, my mind spinning worst-case scenarios. If you’ve been there too, you might…
If you’ve ever found yourself panicking in a crowded elevator or avoiding small rooms with no windows, you’ve likely asked yourself: is this claustrophobia or anxiety—or both? I used to confuse the two all the time. What started as a mild discomfort in tight spaces spiraled into full-blown anxiety attacks in places I wouldn’t have…
Ever feel like your mind gets stuck in a loop of thoughts that just won’t quit? That spinning wheel of “what ifs,” irrational fears, or mental checklists that seem to hijack your peace? You’re not alone. I used to lose sleep over what seemed like trivial worries—only to realize they weren’t just stress-related thoughts but…
There’s a strange kind of silence that creeps in when anxiety doesn’t roar but whispers. For me, emotional numbness came like that — not with full-blown panic, but with this hollow sense of not feeling much of anything. It wasn’t sadness. Not really joy either. Just… muted. And if you’ve been there, you’ll know exactly…
So the other day, I stumbled across this old notebook from college filled with frantic scribbles about deadlines, social events, and, weirdly enough, doodles of spirals. I remember that time clearly—it was the peak of my “what is wrong with me?” phase. My brain felt like it was permanently stuck on fast-forward, and I had…