Oh parentheses anxiety!!! (I am for ever starting parentheses (and not finishing them, so I try to switch to (––) because it sort of does the same thing, but I don't think you have to actually end with one...but maybe you do (so maybe I ought to switch to ... ?? But it never occurred to me to just end every sentence with a couple of these )))!
"No seriously how are you, anxiety and fear wise?" Well, not to brag or anything, but I am in the most grounded, joyful place I have been in a long time. Anxiety and fear still knock at my door but I'm generally busy and don't answer. I'm aware that this too shall pass and I may well enter a season of heavy downpours and hurricanes and volcanic eruptions, but for the moment, the skies are clear and I am solid.
"What do you do when waiting for ppl to respond???" Worst case scenario, I mentally climb over into their world and make up a bunch of shit about what they might be thinking or feeling. I have a vivid and powerful imagination, and I can construct whole worlds that reflect poorly on me. However, given my previously reported state, I tell myself, "This is happening right now. All is well."
Grateful we have each other through the tough times. xx
You're not alone. I'm almost 65 and I still get panic attacks. Good luck, remember to breathe, try to think of something else. I'm sorry if it sounds silly, but that's what my incredibly patient husband tells me, at least. Hang in there...
David Javerbaum!!! Talk about burying the lede, dude. I'm anxious, you're anxious, these are anxious times, but oh what a time you'll have with David Javerbaum. So pumped for you, dude!
I spent seven to ten days absolutely beside myself anxious because of an in-between responses situation EXACTLY like this not even a month ago. And it made me hate myself. God damnit Alex why did you have to write this so well...
I’m definitely in assuage mode. 😂😂 Im making an ass of u and (my) age.
I love when people say Trust in G-d. Yes I’m a believer but G-d did not create money trees. I always want to quote George Bailey when talking to Clarence, “You wouldn’t happen to have 8 thousand on you… it’s comes in handy down here.”
anxiety and fear wise, i'm doing so bad. i'm too aware of the state of the world! plus i got the flu a couple weeks ago, and it makes my brain feel like it's rotting! like, my brain is a compost bucket full of brown banana peels and mold and fruit flies right now. (no seriously i'm speaking literally here!!!!!) i must find a place to dump my brain compost. i need to start a garden! (i'm speaking metaphorically here, there is no way i have the energy or know-how to start a garden.) people keep telling me not to look at the news, and i think, how privileged do i have to be to go through my day not worrying about all the horrors of the world? but then i look at the news and all of the sudden there's a colony of fire ants in my ear canals. (LITERALLY!!!!)
anyway, i force myself to think about all the people i love who make the world beautiful, and that ultimately gets me through it.
In my 65 painfully anxious years I have learned a couple things that have helped me a lot.
One is that I have anxiety, it's a thing! Like high blood pressure, or scoliosis, it's just one of the ingredients I'm composed of. And anxiety causes me to feel anxious. And sometimes it's going to give me that feeling regardless of what is happening. I might feel anxious, like actually feel, like my body starts having those anxiousness body sensations, and then my brain helpfully (not helpful!) steps up and attaches those feelings to something in life, like an email or is the dog limping or did I cook enough pasta, and whoosh, I'm off and fretting as if it's a real thing and not just my brain pulling focus from my body's mean trick. And sometimes, just noticing that helps me feel better. I can let go (a little) of the real life thing and concentrate more on the physical sensations. EEMMV (Everyone else's mileage may vary)
The other thing I've learned is that people without anxiety can be dangerous. I'm sure it's nice for them, but for petesake can we think a couple steps ahead once in awhile, head off the little problems before they become helicopters crashing into jets or whatever.
Here's a story my children shared with me:
They are driving down the road.
Kid1: Mom is so ridiculous. She says people without anxiety are dangerous.
[At that moment a person in a parked car suddenly opens their car door. Kid2 has to swerve to avoid it.]
Oh this got so long, I almost forgot to mention I love your writing, Alex. I appreciate your sharing this story before it was resolved (and not even resolving it) because it's such a heightened, acute, yet ephemeral, yet familiar state and once it's passed it's almost like it never happened, but somehow it lingers and what's left is so weird and you want to just dismiss it meanwhile some secret part of your brain is installing new firmware called "panic at the email" that is really hard to debug later. So yeah, just reading your story helped me.
i'm trying really hard to make a joke version of ANXIETY? I BARELY KNOW HER but it's not working I blame anxiety
I don't normally suffer from anxiety, but you kind of gave me parentheses anxiety, so thanks for that, Alex
Oh parentheses anxiety!!! (I am for ever starting parentheses (and not finishing them, so I try to switch to (––) because it sort of does the same thing, but I don't think you have to actually end with one...but maybe you do (so maybe I ought to switch to ... ?? But it never occurred to me to just end every sentence with a couple of these )))!
hahaha
I feel so incredibly seen. And I’m sorry for all of us!
"No seriously how are you, anxiety and fear wise?" Well, not to brag or anything, but I am in the most grounded, joyful place I have been in a long time. Anxiety and fear still knock at my door but I'm generally busy and don't answer. I'm aware that this too shall pass and I may well enter a season of heavy downpours and hurricanes and volcanic eruptions, but for the moment, the skies are clear and I am solid.
"What do you do when waiting for ppl to respond???" Worst case scenario, I mentally climb over into their world and make up a bunch of shit about what they might be thinking or feeling. I have a vivid and powerful imagination, and I can construct whole worlds that reflect poorly on me. However, given my previously reported state, I tell myself, "This is happening right now. All is well."
Grateful we have each other through the tough times. xx
Anxiety isn’t a thing. Is it? Probably not. Don’t worry about it though. Good luck tonight! —God
You're not alone. I'm almost 65 and I still get panic attacks. Good luck, remember to breathe, try to think of something else. I'm sorry if it sounds silly, but that's what my incredibly patient husband tells me, at least. Hang in there...
David Javerbaum!!! Talk about burying the lede, dude. I'm anxious, you're anxious, these are anxious times, but oh what a time you'll have with David Javerbaum. So pumped for you, dude!
Hi Alex! ha ha perfect timing on this one. wait til you see my post next week, celebrating YOUR anxieties. stay tuned…
I can relate...
I spent seven to ten days absolutely beside myself anxious because of an in-between responses situation EXACTLY like this not even a month ago. And it made me hate myself. God damnit Alex why did you have to write this so well...
I’m definitely in assuage mode. 😂😂 Im making an ass of u and (my) age.
I love when people say Trust in G-d. Yes I’m a believer but G-d did not create money trees. I always want to quote George Bailey when talking to Clarence, “You wouldn’t happen to have 8 thousand on you… it’s comes in handy down here.”
I'm anxiously awaiting your AI DIY WPP APP
anxiety and fear wise, i'm doing so bad. i'm too aware of the state of the world! plus i got the flu a couple weeks ago, and it makes my brain feel like it's rotting! like, my brain is a compost bucket full of brown banana peels and mold and fruit flies right now. (no seriously i'm speaking literally here!!!!!) i must find a place to dump my brain compost. i need to start a garden! (i'm speaking metaphorically here, there is no way i have the energy or know-how to start a garden.) people keep telling me not to look at the news, and i think, how privileged do i have to be to go through my day not worrying about all the horrors of the world? but then i look at the news and all of the sudden there's a colony of fire ants in my ear canals. (LITERALLY!!!!)
anyway, i force myself to think about all the people i love who make the world beautiful, and that ultimately gets me through it.
1. Yes. You sure you don’t want it? I’ll give it to you for free.
2. On a scale from 1-10. Probably a 7 or 8.
3.
4. Play Cookie Jam on my phone.
Hey Alex! I love this post, I discuss anxiety in my latest Substack post as well. We should pass notes
Thanks for sharing!
In my 65 painfully anxious years I have learned a couple things that have helped me a lot.
One is that I have anxiety, it's a thing! Like high blood pressure, or scoliosis, it's just one of the ingredients I'm composed of. And anxiety causes me to feel anxious. And sometimes it's going to give me that feeling regardless of what is happening. I might feel anxious, like actually feel, like my body starts having those anxiousness body sensations, and then my brain helpfully (not helpful!) steps up and attaches those feelings to something in life, like an email or is the dog limping or did I cook enough pasta, and whoosh, I'm off and fretting as if it's a real thing and not just my brain pulling focus from my body's mean trick. And sometimes, just noticing that helps me feel better. I can let go (a little) of the real life thing and concentrate more on the physical sensations. EEMMV (Everyone else's mileage may vary)
The other thing I've learned is that people without anxiety can be dangerous. I'm sure it's nice for them, but for petesake can we think a couple steps ahead once in awhile, head off the little problems before they become helicopters crashing into jets or whatever.
Here's a story my children shared with me:
They are driving down the road.
Kid1: Mom is so ridiculous. She says people without anxiety are dangerous.
[At that moment a person in a parked car suddenly opens their car door. Kid2 has to swerve to avoid it.]
Kid1 & Kid2:
Kid1: Okay, maybe she's right.
Oh this got so long, I almost forgot to mention I love your writing, Alex. I appreciate your sharing this story before it was resolved (and not even resolving it) because it's such a heightened, acute, yet ephemeral, yet familiar state and once it's passed it's almost like it never happened, but somehow it lingers and what's left is so weird and you want to just dismiss it meanwhile some secret part of your brain is installing new firmware called "panic at the email" that is really hard to debug later. So yeah, just reading your story helped me.