Stress & Anxiety Archives - Alicia H. Clark PsyD

6 Ways Grief Can Make You Wonder If You’ll Ever Be OK

Alicia H. Clark, PsyD — Sat, 20 Jan 2024 16:32:10 +0000

With the holidays and early winter being statistically the most popular season to die, late winter can be a time of grief for many survivors left to face life without a loved one – an experience that can feel overwhelming, destabilizing, and confusing. We all know that it is normal to feel sad for a…

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Does Marijuana Help With Anxiety Or Is This A Myth We’re Just Hoping is True?

Alicia H. Clark, PsyD — Fri, 12 Jan 2024 18:42:47 +0000

Marijuana and anxiety: Advice for parents and caregivers As an anxiety clinician, I have witnessed firsthand what the research shows: anxiety rates are rising. As such, I am often approached by people looking for new ways to manage their worries. As marijuana legalization has gained traction throughout the US, along with hopes for its untapped…

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What is Anxiety, What is an Anxiety Disorder, and Why Defining It Matters

Alicia H. Clark, PsyD — Wed, 26 Aug 2020 18:19:10 +0000

As a practicing psychologist for over 20 years, the question of “what is anxiety” is one that has led many conversations in my office. People often want to know what is an anxiety disorder and if they could have one. What I have learned is that most of us have a sense of what we…

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7 Ways Fighting Anxiety Is Making You Miserable

Alicia H. Clark, PsyD — Tue, 03 Oct 2017 18:47:27 +0000

Fighting anxiety is completely understandable, even natural. Who wants to feel anxious, or deal with the experience of being on edge, weary, and sick-to-their-stomach afraid? Anxiety is horribly uncomfortable, and makes us want to do whatever it takes to make it stop. And yes, that’s its job: to Make. It. Stop. But fighting anxiety itself…

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Answering Your Question: What Does Healthy Anxiety Mean?

Alicia H. Clark, PsyD — Tue, 26 Sep 2017 03:27:13 +0000

As a champion for anxiety, I am often asked what does healthy anxiety mean exactly, and is there any such thing as good anxiety anyway. With anxiety being so uncomfortable, and fueling so many mental health problems these days, it’s no wonder people feel skeptical about anxiety serving any useful purpose at all. After all,…

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How To Use Anxiety To Your Advantage

Alicia H. Clark, PsyD — Sun, 20 Aug 2017 14:11:56 +0000

Knowing how to use anxiety to your advantage can help you turn anxiety around in your life. At its worst, anxiety can feel like a private prison we carry around with us. Whether we fight it, give in to it, or simply try to avoid it, anxiety often feels like something that happens to us…

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How To Use Mindfulness For Anxiety (And Improved Wellness)

Alicia H. Clark, PsyD — Mon, 10 Jul 2017 03:20:34 +0000

Before we can understand how to use mindfulness for anxiety, it is important to first understand what mindfulness is. One of the best definitions of mindfulness comes from Berkeley’s Center for Greater Good, “Mindfulness means maintaining a moment-by-moment awareness of our thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and surrounding environment” Mindfulness also involves acceptance, meaning that we…

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A Quick-Start Guide To Supporting Someone Who Has Serious Anxiety – YourTango, PsychCentral

Alicia H. Clark, PsyD — Sat, 01 Jul 2017 11:37:09 +0000

What they might not be able to ask for, but wish you knew. Most of us who know or love someone who is anxious intend to be supportive, even helpful, in our interactions. We know to listen and not judge. To be patient when it’s hard to talk about issues. We even know to keep our own feelings…

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Answering Your Question: What Is an Anxiety Attack?

Alicia H. Clark, PsyD — Mon, 19 Jun 2017 23:05:39 +0000

People often ask what is an anxiety attack, and there is no one straight answer. It has been used as a popular synonym for a panic attack, and has also been distinguished from a panic attack as being less severe. A panic attack is a discrete list of symptoms that include shortness of breath, rapid…

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Anxiety About Anxiety: 4 Facts Every Worrier Should Know

Alicia H. Clark, PsyD — Sun, 11 Jun 2017 21:14:41 +0000

A powerful accelerant of acute anxiety, secondary anxiety, meta-anxiety, and meta-worry are all ways of describing the same thing: anxiety about anxiety. Put another way, this is the anxiety we feel when we think about, and dread, our anxiety symptoms. It isn’t our primary anxiety or worry, it’s the anxiety that evolves secondary to it.…

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