SPREADINGTHELOVE

We all have a sympathetic nervous system called the fight-or-flight response. It governs the body's response to perceived threats, stress, distress, and danger, real or imagined. Its purpose is to save our lives by preparing us to fight or flee in the face of danger. When exposed to a stressful event, an area of the brain called the amygdala sends a distress signal to the hypothalamus. This region of the brain communicates with the nervous system and triggers a sense of anxie

Over the years, I have become a prime example of how your physical health affects your mental health and vice versa. I was diagnosed with both depression and anxiety in middle school and being forced to juggle both, I couldn't see how life could get any harder- until it did. About a year after being diagnosed with depression and anxiety, I developed a chronic illness known as Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, or POTS. POTS has a number of different symptoms including

Since high school, I’ve lived with anxiety and panic attacks. They’re hard to predict at times because I could go months without having one and then suddenly have multiple attacks daily. It's important to understand that there’s a difference between an anxiety attack and a panic attack. An anxiety attack usually has a trigger while a panic attack generally comes out of nowhere for no reason. I’ve experienced both several times in my life. During both a panic attack and an anx