All the textbooks talk about avoidance as a classic hallmark of anxiety disorder. So you need a therapist who is sympathetic and understanding but will also push you to do precisely the things that scare you. Scott Stossel anxietyavoidanceclassic share on social
As recently as 1979, neither panic attacks nor panic disorder officially existed. Scott Stossel attackdisorderexist Change image and share on social
There is an element in which anxiety co-represents with aspects of my personality I wouldn't want to give up. It allows you to have foresight. I may not be as empathetic. It's hard to figure out the difference between pathology and personality. Scott Stossel anxietyaspectdifference share on social
Even though my mom herself was anxious, I think she didn't know how to deal with it in her kid, and my dad just had no conception of what this was about, and sort of didn't even want to acknowledge it. Scott Stossel acknowledgeanxiousconception share on social
When I was 5 and my sister was 3, we went on a family trip, and she ate cheese off the floor at an airport. My mother, a germaphobe, got very upset. My sister, of course, got a stomach virus, and ever since then, I have an aversion to cheese. Scott Stossel airportaversioncheese share on social
I am living on the razor's edge between success and failure, adulation and humiliation - between justifying my existence and revealing my unworthiness to be alive. Scott Stossel adulationaliveedge Change image and share on social
Anxiety has afflicted me all my life. Scott Stossel afflictanxietylife Change image and share on social
Carly Simon abandoned the stage for seven years after collapsing from nerves before a concert in Pittsburgh in 1981. When she resumed performing, she would sometimes ask members of her band to spank her before she went onstage, to distract her from her anxiety. Scott Stossel abandonanxietyband share on social
The fear of vomiting, which for me is one of the most original and most acute of my fears, is actually fairly common. Emetophobia, it's called, and by some estimates, it's the fifth most common specific phobia. Scott Stossel acutecallcommon share on social
Generally speaking, the anxiety will pass, which is easy for me to say when I'm not in the middle of an anxiety attack. When you're in the throes of one, it's hard to feel anything other than utter misery and terror. Scott Stossel anxietyattackeasy share on social