This post is a companion piece to " Chronic Stress: How Mental Patterns Shape Our Struggles. " The other post rightly emphasized the primacy of rational action in the face of crisis. When a child is drowning, we do not examine our emotions but jump into the lake to save them. Our survival, our livelihoods, our very commitments sometimes demand immediate, decisive action, regardless of the emotional maelstrom within. However, the emphasis on responding effectively is not a dis

Life is a continuous negotiation, often presenting demands that stretch our capacities to their absolute limits. When these pressures mount, and the prospect of falling short feels like an existential threat.  Our brains, usually marvels of processing, can descend into a cognitive fog: concentration falters, memory malfunctions, and even minor decisions feel insurmountable. Our bodies bear the brunt: chronic fatigue, muscles locked in tension, digestive turmoil, and a comprom

You're deep in the peaceful oblivion of sleep. Next, you're bolt upright, heart hammering, lungs seizing, gripped by an inexplicable terror. There's no fire, no intruder, no actual threat – just the raw, visceral sensation of pure panic. It's a nocturnal panic attack . For those who experience them, these episodes are uniquely unsettling. They hijack your body's alarm system when you're supposed to be most secure, leaving you shaken, exhausted, and sometimes, dreading the nex

To say that panic attacks feel awful is an understatement. Panic attacks are awful AND confusing. A panic attack is full blown alarm...

Chances are that you have tried to stop worrying but the whole endeavor turned out to be far more difficult and frustrating than...

It is true: I don’t like the push towards positive thinking. I think that CBT is about realistic evaluation of what is happening in our...

Exposure is a CBT technique used to treat anxiety disorders that requires us to face triggers that cause anxiety, but are not dangerous. ...

Contagious illnesses such as Covid19, economy, politics are all complex systems. It is possible to build some predictive models but...

Nobody expected that 2020 will bring a lock-down. This lock-down aimed to protect us from a highly contagious virus. Together, the...

Google dictionary defines trigger as “an event or circumstance that is the cause of a particular action, process, or situation”.  Danger...

A lot of our mind work occurs at a non-conscious level. We can be propelled into action or aware of the emotions that we may feel but not...

Have you ever stayed up all night worrying about the wellbeing of someone you care about?  You might have just learnt about this person’s...

Have you ever felt “bad energy”?  You might believe that some people create bad vibes and feel particularly uncomfortable with them. ...

You might have found yourself wondering when it will be all over and when the world would return to normal. It is a very understandable...