Anxiety Momster

Tag: Panic disorder

  • Friend or Foe: Which One Is Anxiety?

    When you think of anxiety, what comes to mind — friend or foe?
    If you’re like most of us coping with anxiety, it can feel like both.
    Sometimes it protects you. Sometimes it paralyzes you.

    The truth is: anxiety plays both roles. And learning how to work with it (instead of constantly fighting it) is a powerful step toward peace.

    What Is Anxiety — And Why Do We Have It?

    Anxiety is the body’s natural alarm system.
    Thousands of years ago, it helped humans survive threats like wild animals or dangerous weather.

    Today, anxiety still has a purpose:

    • It helps you stay alert.
    • It motivates you to prepare for important events.
    • It warns you when something feels unsafe.

    Without any anxiety, we wouldn’t be careful, responsible, or cautious.
    In healthy amounts, anxiety is a powerful friend.

    When Anxiety Becomes a Foe

    The problem starts when anxiety gets stuck in overdrive.
    Instead of protecting you from real threats, it starts sounding the alarm over everyday things — like going to work, answering the phone, or driving across town.

    When anxiety takes over, you might experience:

    • Rapid heartbeat
    • Shortness of breath
    • Upset stomach
    • Panic attacks
    • Constant “what if” thinking
    • Fear of the future

    When anxiety shows up without real danger, it stops being helpful and starts being harmful.
    This is when anxiety becomes a foe.

    Coping With Anxiety: Is It Possible?

    Absolutely.
    Even when anxiety feels huge, you can build tools to manage it.

    Healing doesn’t mean “getting rid of anxiety forever” — it means learning how to calm the alarm so that anxiety doesn’t control your life.

    Helpful tools for coping with anxiety include:

    • Journaling and mood tracking
    • Mindfulness and breathing exercises
    • Therapy or coaching
    • Limiting social media exposure
    • Building calming routines

    One powerful option is using an anxiety support journal — a space where you can track emotions, document small wins, and remind yourself of your strength.

    Final Thoughts

    Anxiety is neither completely your enemy nor completely your ally.
    It’s a natural part of you — just like any other emotion.
    It’s not here to break you.
    It’s here asking for your attention, your care, and your healing.

    You have survived every anxious day up until this moment.
    You will survive today, too.
    One moment, one breath, one gentle step at a time.

    📖 Need Extra Support on Your Anxiety Journey?

    Subscribe today to receive your free Peace Over Panic Digital Journal — a calming space filled with affirmations, mood trackers, daily check-ins, and helpful coping tools.
    It’s time to reclaim your peace, one page at a time.

    👉 Subscribe Here and Claim Your Free Journal

    You deserve to heal. You deserve to thrive. You deserve to feel peace again.

  • 💥 What a Panic Attack Feels Like (For Me)

    ⚠️ This post includes a personal account of panic attacks. If you’re feeling sensitive or anxious right now, please take care of yourself and come back when you’re ready.

    Let me be real with you — I wouldn’t wish a panic attack on anyone. But if you’ve had one, then you know. And if you haven’t? Well… maybe this can help you understand people like me a little better.

    Because panic attacks aren’t just “feeling nervous.” They’re loud. They’re messy. And they hijack your whole body like you’ve been thrown into a tornado with no warning.

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  • Creating an Anxiety Emergency Kit: What’s Inside Mine

    ⚠️ Trigger Warning: This post discusses panic attacks and anxiety tools. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, please take care of your mental space as you read.

    Disclaimer:
    I’m not a doctor, therapist, or licensed mental health professional. I’m just a mom living with anxiety, sharing my personal experiences in hopes that they help someone else feel less alone. Nothing in this blog should be taken as medical advice. Please speak with a professional if you’re struggling — you deserve support.

    🧰 Why I have an anxiety emergency kit

    Because anxiety doesn’t make appointments.
    It doesn’t care if I’m home, in traffic, in the grocery store, or trying to sleep.
    When it hits, I need tools — not just deep breathing and good intentions.
    So I made a kit. A real one. With stuff I can grab fast when my nervous system flips out.

    This isn’t some cute Pinterest box — this is survival, comfort, grounding, and real tools that help me stay on this side of okay.

    🖤 What’s in my anxiety emergency kit:

    1. Black Pepper (yes, for real)

    Smelling black pepper helps snap my brain out of panic.
    It’s sharp, strong, grounding — and weirdly calming for me.
    I keep a tiny jar in my bag or desk. Laugh if you want, but it works.

    2. Vicks VapoRub

    Cool on the skin, strong in the nose — and mentally soothing.
    I rub it on my temples or under my nose when I feel like I’m spiraling.
    That menthol smell brings me back fast. Bonus: it feels like my grandma is hugging me.

    3. Peppermint essential oil

    When I can’t breathe right, this helps open things up.
    I use a rollerball or just take a sniff from the bottle.

    4. Chewing gum or mints

    Keeps my mouth busy and tricks my body into thinking I’m safe.
    (You don’t chew when you’re running from a lion, right?)

    5. A fidget ring or something to squeeze

    When my hands need something to do and my brain’s going a mile a minute.

    6. Cooling wipes or a mini cold pack

    For when my face is hot, my chest is tight, and I need relief now.

    7. Lavender sachet or spray

    Just a soft smell that makes me feel calmer. Not always, but sometimes it helps when nothing else does.

    8. A little notecard of reminders

    Mine says:

    “You are safe. This is anxiety. It will pass.”
    “You’ve felt this before. You’re still here.”
    “Do one thing: sip water, step outside, breathe.”

    9. Music or calming sounds

    Sometimes I throw on my headphones and play ocean waves, soft piano, or a playlist I built just for anxious moments.

    🧠 Want to make your own?

    You don’t need all the same things I have. Your kit should reflect you.
    What calms you down? What snaps you back into the moment? What comforts you when nothing else does?

    Here are some other ideas:

    • A favorite lotion or scent
    • A small comforting photo
    • A stress ball or pop fidget
    • A pack of tissues
    • A guided meditation downloaded for offline use
    • A tiny note from your kids or someone who makes you feel safe

    🖤 Final thoughts

    This kit doesn’t “cure” anxiety. But it helps me ride the wave.
    It reminds me I’m not helpless. I have tools. I have power.
    And every time I reach for it, I remind myself:
    I’ve survived this before. I’ll survive it again.

    What’s in your anxiety kit? Drop it in the comments or DM me — I love hearing what works for other people.

    Stay strong, Anxiety Fam. You’re doing amazing.

  • Sometimes I Cry and Don’t Know Why

    ⚠️ Trigger Warning: This post contains personal experiences related to anxiety, overwhelm, and emotional release. Please take care of your mental space as you read.

    Disclaimer:
    I’m not a doctor, therapist, or licensed mental health professional. I’m just a mom living with anxiety, sharing my personal experiences in hopes that they help someone else feel less alone. Nothing in this blog should be taken as medical advice. Please speak with a professional if you’re struggling — you deserve support.

    🫧 It just hits me

    There are days I wake up already on the verge of tears.
    No warning. No fight. No “bad news.” Just a heaviness in my chest that won’t go away.
    And sometimes… I cry. And I can’t even tell you why.

    There’s no one thing.
    There’s no big trigger.
    There’s just… everything. All at once.

    💔 It feels like this:

    • My throat tightens.
    • My chest feels like it’s holding in a scream.
    • My thoughts start spinning.
    • I feel guilty for crying — like I “should” be fine.
    • I feel embarrassed even when I’m alone.

    And sometimes, I cry quietly in the bathroom so no one sees.
    Sometimes, I cry in the car after holding it in all day.
    And sometimes, I just cry in bed because I don’t have the strength to do anything else.

    🧠 What I’ve realized over time:

    Sometimes the tears are for things I never had the chance to process.
    Sometimes they’re for the fear I carry in silence.
    Sometimes they’re for the pressure of being “strong” when I feel anything but.
    Sometimes they’re just because I’m exhausted.

    Crying isn’t weakness.
    It’s your nervous system trying to reset.
    It’s your body asking for grace.
    It’s your soul waving a little white flag saying, “I just need a minute.”

    💡 What helps when the tears come:

    • I stop asking “why” and just let it happen.
    • I talk to myself the way I’d talk to a friend: “It’s okay to feel this. It’s okay to not have a reason.”
    • I do something small that brings me back: wash my face, change my shirt, step outside, hug my kids.
    • I don’t shame myself for being human.

    🖤 You’re allowed to feel it.

    Even when it doesn’t make sense.
    Even when it feels “dramatic.”
    Even when no one else sees what you’re carrying.

    This is your reminder that tears are not a failure.
    They are a release.
    They are a reset.
    They are real.

    And if you cried today — or cry after reading this — that’s okay.

    Me too.

  • Living with Hypochondria: My Daily Challenges

    Disclaimer:
    I’m not a doctor, therapist, or licensed mental health professional. I’m just a mom living with anxiety, sharing my personal experiences in hopes that they help someone else feel less alone. Nothing in this blog should be taken as medical advice. Please speak with a professional if you’re struggling — you deserve support.

    ⚠️ This post talks about health-related anxiety and panic symptoms. Please take care of your mental space as you read.

    🧠 My mind doesn’t stop

    A simple headache? Could be a brain tumor.
    A flutter in my chest? Must be a heart attack.
    Tingling fingers? Is this a stroke starting?

    Even when logic tells me I’m okay, my anxiety tells me I’m not. It hijacks my peace with “what ifs” that spiral fast and loud.

    📲 The Google trap

    I’ve Googled symptoms I didn’t even have — just to prepare myself “in case” they show up. I’ve convinced myself I was dying, only to later realize I was just dehydrated or tired. It’s embarrassing. But it’s part of how my brain copes — by trying to “solve” a threat that isn’t even real.

    🩺 Doctor fatigue

    Yes, I’ve gone to urgent care “just to be sure.”
    Yes, I’ve asked doctors the same question multiple times.
    No, it’s not for attention — it’s because my anxiety convinces me something was missed.

    It’s exhausting. For me and for the people I love. But it’s also my reality.

    💡 What helps me cope

    • Scheduled reassurance. I limit how often I can check symptoms or Google anything.
    • Distraction therapy. I redirect my mind with music, puzzles, or helping my kids.
    • Grounding logic. I ask, “If this were someone else, would I think they were dying?”
    • Therapy + journaling. Writing it down helps release the fear from my head.

    ❤️ You’re not alone

    If you deal with health anxiety, know this:
    You’re not crazy. You’re not broken.
    Your brain is just trying to protect you — it’s just overdoing it.

    You can live with hypochondria and still find peace.
    It takes work. It takes patience. But most of all, it takes grace.

    🖤
    If this spoke to you, share it. Comment. Or just sit with it and know…
    You’re not alone. You never were.

    — Anxiety Momster

  • ✍🏽 The Lifestyle Changes That Actually Helped My Anxiety (That Weren’t Overwhelming)

    I used to think managing anxiety meant a total life overhaul. Like I had to wake up at 5AM, drink celery juice, meditate for an hour, and go on a 3-mile hike just to “cope.”
    Spoiler alert: That didn’t work for me.

    What did work were small, realistic changes that fit into my already overloaded life — with kids, a full-time job, homeschooling, and chronic overthinking.

    I’m not cured. But I’m managing better than I used to. These are the shifts that actually helped.

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  • When You’re the Anxious Mom and Still Have to Be the Calm One

    There’s a special kind of exhaustion that comes from feeling everything so deeply… and still having to smile, keep it together, and be the calm in your kids’ storm.

    When you’re the anxious mom, panic doesn’t wait for a convenient time. It shows up in the middle of homeschool. In the middle of Target. In the middle of your room while you’re prepping folders and trying to keep everyone on task.

    But even when your chest is tight, your shoulder aches out of nowhere, or your heart skips a beat — there’s still a little voice in your head whispering: “Stay calm for them.”

    It’s not easy. It’s not fair. But it’s reality for so many of us.

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  • 5 Myths About Anxiety That Need to Die (Like Yesterday)

    There’s a lot of noise out there about what anxiety is and isn’t — and honestly, most of it just makes those of us who live with it feel worse.

    So today I’m breaking down five of the biggest myths I’ve personally run into — the ones that made me feel ashamed, misunderstood, or weak. If you’ve believed any of these, you’re not alone.

    Let’s clear it up.

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  • ✨ I’m Still Here: What It Feels Like to Survive Another Anxiety Episode

    Tonight, I felt like I was dying. Again.

    It crept in, like it always does — quiet at first, then full-blown chaos. My head felt funny, my stomach flipped, and my brain told me it was something serious. A brain tumor. An aneurysm. Something fatal.

    My hands got cold. My chest tightened.
    I wanted to cry, scream, and run. I wanted it to stop.

    And yet…
    Here I am.
    Still breathing.
    Still here.

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