Mental Health Awareness, and the Latest Movies By Salomon Ptasevich Last week I had a chance to see the latest Iron Man movie, and to my surprise the new Tony Stark seems to be suffering from what appears to be panic attacks, night terrors and PTSD. In multiple scenes we can see him struggling with his anxiety and he even has a full-blown panic attack near the beginning of the movie. I find it really refreshing to see that one of the most self-confident characters on the screen today has been touched by a mental health issue. I think this shows a trend of acceptance of mental health as something that can affect anybody and this will certainly help to raise awareness in the younger generation. Many times I see that new ASN users are really surprised by the fact that there are others that suffer from anxiety as well. Many are unaware of what anxiety is at all. Another thing I really liked about the fact that Stark has an anxiety disorder is the way that this disorder is actually used as a device for the development of the character. It helps to humanize him and make him more likable. On the contrary, I was very disappointed with Silver Linings Playbook (2012) and the way the movie depicts people with mental health disorders. I think it was completely exaggerated, unrealistic and stigmatizing. In this case I will say that unfortunately not every movie that talks about mental health helps…

So I have always been told to document my feelings, keep a journal, write it down. Well, here we go. Figure why not do it on here if it can help someone else. I am 43 soon to be 44, ick, and I have suffered from anxiety for over 20 years. It started when my youngest was born on 11/22/92. He was a month premature and had ventricular septal defect. I will never forget those words! Basically it means a heart murmur. Lots of people have it. Very common thing. Now if I was told that 20 years ago I would probably be fine today! It wasnt explained to me. I asked the dr if he was going to live and his reply was: "WE DONT KNOW". Thats it, end of conversation. REALLY??!! Well, I was sent home while Robert was in NICU. He had tubes all over and was in an incubator. That night was my first panice attack. I drove myself to the ER, my soon to be husband was not much help back then, and I was told I was having anxiety. Ok, Im not dieing, I can go home. Well, needless to say that was not my only trip to the ER. I made several. Finally one night, my anxiety was higher at night, I was treated by a paramedic who was helping in the ER. He asked if I drove myself, I said yes. He explained to me that if I can get up and…

I have started a new blog at http://www.myanxietystruggle.com and in this article I am trying to define happiness. In my point of view happiness is one such thing which all of us are looking for irrespective of the work we are doing, things we want to achieve and whether we are in some relationship. We are looking happiness through money, through people, through some assets and everyone has their own way of looking at happiness. If you ask someone a question that why you want success? Their answer would be to achieve happiness for them or for their family. So everyone is looking for this one word happiness. But the irony is that everybody in this world experience happiness momentarily i.e. for a particular period of time and the main reason behind this irony is that people feels that happiness is something which is dependent on achieving something or getting something. Our happiness is dependent on something outside i.e. our desires comes from outside world. For example “I will feel good only when I get this particular thing”, now it is clear that I will only feel good when I get some particular thing or my happiness is dependent on that particular thing. The main reason for this thinking is our belief system which says that when something is done and it’s done in a right way then i will feel happy or I am doing this so that I feel happy. You can trace back to your childhood and…

Follow my blogging journey here http://anxietygirlsings.blogspot.co.nz/ When you fall back into that spiral of anxiety (yet) again, give yourself time to get your strength back, and then step back into the battle again. No matter how often you fall, you will always get through and you will be able to start again. Sometimes it feels like you can't possibly keep trying to beat it. It will always get the better of you eventually, and to an extent, it's true. We can never be completely rid of anxiety, but we can learn to manage it, and in doing so, we can live our lives more 'normally' and achieve things we really want to achieve. Of course, I'm not a professional, and who am I to be giving advice. To be honest, I am giving this advice to myself. I fall backwards regularly, and each time I get depressed and convince myself that I will never be able to do anything, that I can never beat it, and that it's just not worth even trying anymore. Yet everytime, I slowly get out of that spiral (and yes, it can take a couple of months or more), and pick myself up, and start again. It really is a case of, 2 steps forward, 1 step back - and sometimes, it can be more like 4 steps back. But at least each time I try again, I make even a little progress. I hope that you are too. If you feel like you aren't, try…

Depression is ugly. There’s no way around this fact. Depression is like driving to an amazing job interview and your car dies in the middle of nowhere. Say goodbye to the interview. You will be sticking around for a while. Those of us with anxiety are well aware of our depressive episodes. Depression and anxiety come in the same package. The National Institute of Mental Health states on their website that, “Anxiety disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, social phobia, and generalized anxiety disorder, often accompany depression.” When a car breaks down, our immediate reaction is often a bit senseless. We may get angry at the car for busting down. We want to scream at it; to kick it; to take a sledgehammer and smash all its windows. Likewise, when someone we love becomes depressed and simply stops functioning, we often become overwhelmed and frustrated by their ineptitude; and rightly so. It is not easy having a car bust down and spoil longed for opportunities. However, smashing in the car, telling the car it is lazy, sending the car on guilt trips for busting down is not going to get anyone back on the road. Smashing up the car will only make matters worse. One must give the car a tune up. Maybe it needs some more gas. The consequences of maltreatment, however, are obviously more severe for living things. Didier Lefevre traveled into the rough terrain in the bleakest parts of Afghanistan with Doctors…

  Hi, I'm a blogger at http://shygirladventurer.blogspot.com/  I am trying to go on a bunch of fun adventures that take me out of my comfort zone to help me overcome my social anxiety. For my ultimate adventure, I will volunteer abroad in Nepal for a couple of months. Check out this ridiculous adventure I decided to go on. So, I somehow convinced myself that this was going to be a good idea. Everyone reassured me that it was a fine idea when I explained it, so I felt okay about it. Here is a graphic representation of what I envisioned along with a poem that inspired me. The idea was that I would buy a balloon and give it away. This is how I saw it. A great time, framed by this whimsical poem of spring. I imagined that I would be a little awkward like Cummings' balloon man, but I would make people happy. That's not quite how it went. First, I went to the party store. I picked out a big monkey balloon. A big monkey balloon. I tied it to a hair band around my wrist. I drove to a store I was not accustomed to. I felt lost as I wandered through the isles looking for someone to give the balloon to.  I felt like people were staring at me because I was carrying a giant monkey balloon. They were. I knew I should look them in the eye and smile. I think they were grinning…

Okay, So we all know the term 'Nobody's perfect', yet we find ourselves constantly comparing ourselves to others. Perhaps it's just how society has been and will always be, but if we work at gaining self-confidence, maybe we can cut the 'constantly' to a mere 'occasionally'. What I have learned is this, the best way to conquer your flaws is to flaunt them. Yeah, that sounds a bit weird most likely, but your true friends and loved one's won't even mind! So let's say you're someone who is really self-conscious their teeth... they aren't perfectly straight, sure as hell aren't white, so you rarely ever smile, and when you do you clasp your hand over your mouth. Stop doing that. Yes, that is obviously a lot easier said than done, but as I said before, no one really cares. They may think it's a bit odd, but who are they to judge? Everyone suffers from flaws and therefore, they are not in the place to judge you. Also, know that you're not alone in your flaw. There are probably people out there who are just like you! There's a poem by Shel Silverstein called 'Masks' and if you haven't read it yet, I highly suggest you do! Also, if you have time, Desiderata by Max Ehrmann is a great poem to live by. So what are your flaws? Maybe you'll find someone just like you on here!

Do you remember the last time when you felt anxious? Possibly, when you spent sleepless night before your exam or perhaps did not get job when you were in an urgent need of it. These situations normally create temporary anxiety that fades away after some time. However, some people having Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) find it hard to control their worries. People with GAD always worry about health, school, money, family. They get various physical symptoms like headaches, insomnia, trembling, weakness, sweating, muscle tension, irritability and many others. The daily life of people, suffering from anxiety disorder, becomes hell. Many people fall into the cycle of anxiety because they do not get the right help and advice at an earlier stage. I'm saying this because I went through the same thing around 8 years ago and faced the debilitating effects of it. Now, I am completely recovered from this problem and want to dedicate my life to helping others. Therefore, I am sharing here some simple tips that will help you to treat anxiety yourself. Negative Self-Talk Sucks: However, several factors such as environmental factors, medical factors, substance abuse, or a mixture of these can be the reason of anxiety but it is most commonly triggered when we regularly talk or think negative about ourselves that means a habit of always assuming ourselves responsible for the worst will happen. Shad Helmstetter, author of "What to Say When you Talk To Yourself" has done a lot of researches to understand the process of…