Anxiety causes are complex, and living with anxiety can be agonizing. Case in point: three people are walking together down a hallway in an office. A coworker passes by and says absolutely nothing. Person A thinks, “Hmmm. He seems in a hurry. Must be busy today.” Person B thinks nothing at all about this but continues to mull over whatever she is mulling over. Person C thinks, “Oh no. He didn’t say anything to me. He must be upset. I must have offended him somehow. What do I do about this? How can I face him? Should I approach him or let him approach me? What if he doesn’t want me to work here anymore?” One situation, three different reactions. Why? What causes the anxious reaction of person C?

If you are anything like me, you’ll find the news media to be a virtual minefield of anxiety and panic attack triggers. Television, radio, newspapers, magazines, and the Internet are constantly bombarding us with headlines about various happenings in the world. Whether local, national, or world news, the one thing that is certain is that media will find, create, or report on anything that will draw our attention. More often than not, the news is negative. Anything tragic or controversial crowds the front pages and runs at the top of the hour. The phrase, “if it bleeds, it leads,” appears to be the measure of newsworthiness for any story. Constantly being bombarded with stories of danger, crisis, and violence is enough to leave even the most level-headed among us feeling anxious about our own safety and that of our loved ones.

Living with an anxiety disorder can make us feel very miserable. Naturally, we want the anxiety, no matter the type, to just go away. So we find ways to treat it and to manage it. There’s medication, therapy, or various alternative treatments. Sometimes, though, this just doesn't feel like enough.

Mental illness is a complicated medical diagnosis in the “best” of circumstances. All people have a variety of emotions, thoughts, and habits that make up their personalities. Determining that something rises to the level of disorder and needs medical intervention isn't always straightforward. For me, the effects of co-occurring bipolar and anxiety disorders make understanding what was happening to me difficult. As far back as I can remember, I have always been paranoid, anxious, depressed, and manic. In fairness, I didn't realize I was manic; I just thought I was extremely happy. But I ended up in the psychiatric ward because I was suicidal, which is a byproduct of the extreme depression. It was during that visit that I was diagnosed with mental illness for the first time.

Human beings are much like beautiful gardens. Within each of us are many different types of lovely flowers. Everyone’s garden is unique to him or her; indeed, we have different flowers—different personality traits, strengths and talents, and interests and abilities. That said, all of our inner gardens, like the dirt-and-plant sort, have a similarity. They can become peppered with, and even overrun by, weeds. For people, a very common, very noxious weed is anxiety. What happens when our inner gardens become infested with the weed of anxiety, and what can we do about it?

When people know my diagnosis of bipolar and anxiety disorders — and given my line of work, most do — they tend to assign all of my actions to said diagnosis. Confrontation and disagreement, as an example, turn into signs that I am escalating to a manic state state or having an anxiety or panic attack. But anxiety disorder and confrontation don’t exactly go hand in and hand.

Living with anxiety can be at best uncomfortable and at worst debilitating. Naturally, we want to overcome it. While there are no quick fixes, happily there are fixes. Anxiety treatment is quite personal, and there's a wide variety of approaches that people can explore to kick their anxiety to the curb.

When I am having a panic attack, I have a medication I take to help me calm down. I carry these prescribed pills with me and keep a supply in my house and car. I only take this medication when I am positive a panic attack is occurring. It is an acute treatment, not a daily regimen. As you’d expect, the panic and anxiety medication has side effects.

Perfectionism. It’s a common term in our society. We accuse people of (or, depending on one’s opinion of perfectionism, applaud people for) being perfectionists. Is perfectionism a desire to succeed and excel in one’s field? I’d call that ambition, but not necessarily perfectionism. Perfectionism includes this desire for success, yes, but it goes beyond a desire to succeed. Perfectionism is not just a desire to do well; it’s a need to do the perfect job or be the perfect person to the detriment of your wellbeing. And perfectionism contributes greatly to anxiety.

I am a strong person, physically. At six-foot-three inches tall and 250 pounds, most people wouldn't waste their breath arguing that assertion. And, whether because of, or in spite of, my bipolar and anxiety diagnoses, I consider myself to be strong mentally, as well. I am intelligent, accomplished, likeable, and successful. Despite the mountains of evidence of this, my brain works diligently to convince me that every interaction I have with another person is a misstep. If I text someone and they don’t reply back, it is obvious they are mad at me. If someone doesn't answer the phone when I call, say hello when they pass by, or reply to my email, then my mind goes into what can only be described as an emotional roller coaster.