Anxiety is not a personal failure
Maksim opens the conversation by saying he feels anxious too. It is the first live session in this format, and it feels a little nerve-racking. That honesty matters. Anxiety is not something that happens only to “other people.” It can be here, now, in a psychologist, a host, a listener, anyone who is alive and reacting to the world.
Psychologist Polina Skrypinskaya describes anxiety as the body’s emotional reaction to stressful events and situations. Not as shame. Not as a defect. Not as an enemy that has to be erased immediately.
The goal is not to never feel anxious. The goal is to learn how to come back to reality, your body, support, and choice.
What anxiety is
Anxiety is a response to stress, uncertainty, or overload. Sometimes it helps us prepare. Sometimes it lasts too long and drains us.
Many people want anxiety gone completely. But we do not live in a sealed bubble. We react to people, news, conflict, body sensations, the future, and the past.
Different kinds of anxiety
Everyday anxiety
This is situational: an exam, a hard conversation, being late, public speaking, an important event. It usually rises and falls with the situation.
Generalized anxiety
This is ongoing worry across many areas of life, often without one clear trigger. Self-help tools can support you, but professional help may be needed.
Panic
Anxiety can arrive as a sudden wave with body symptoms: racing heart, sweating, shaking, fear of losing control.
Social anxiety and trauma-related anxiety
Social anxiety is tied to people, judgment, and being seen. Trauma-related anxiety can appear after overwhelming events. Self-help can help, but it should not replace therapy.
Fear and anxiety
Maksim puts it simply: fear has an object. You can see what you are afraid of. Anxiety often has no clear object, but the body is already acting as if danger is close.
Anxiety pulls us into the future: what if something happens, what if I fail, what if I can’t cope. That is why grounding tools bring attention back to the present.
Start by allowing the reaction
Polina suggests beginning with one sentence: my reaction makes sense right now. Under stress, people freeze, run, avoid, get angry, become sharp, or shut down.
Allowing the reaction does not mean staying stuck in it. It means: I see what is happening, and now I can choose one small next step.
The 5-4-3-2-1 grounding technique
Grounding helps bring you back from anxious “flight” into your body and the room.
- Name five things you can see.
- Four things you can touch.
- Three sounds you can hear.
- Two smells.
- One taste.
You can say it out loud if that feels okay. The more specific you get, the less room there is for a vague threat.
The body as an anchor
Movement helps: walking, cleaning, dancing, taking a shower, stretching. Cleaning can be especially grounding because organizing the space around you can help your mind regain shape.
Food can help too, not as emotional numbing, but as contact with the body: what do I need right now, what would support me?
HALTS
HALTS is a quick scan:
- Hungry: am I hungry?
- Angry: am I angry?
- Lonely: am I lonely?
- Tired: am I tired?
- Serious: have I lost all playfulness or perspective?
Sometimes anxiety grows because the body is hungry, exhausted, isolated, or too tense to breathe.
News, social media, and quick relief
Social media, food, substances, games, and endless short videos can create quick relief. But after a dopamine spike, there is often a crash: emptiness, fatigue, irritability, more anxiety.
If you cannot avoid the news completely, do not start or end the day with it. Choose a time when you have more emotional capacity.
Worry time
Another tool is to give anxiety a container. For example: from 5:00 to 5:20 p.m., I worry. When anxious thoughts show up earlier, you can say: not now, we have time for this later.
When anxiety has a boundary, it may stop flooding the whole day.
When to get professional help
If anxiety lasts, disrupts sleep, appetite, work, relationships, or concentration, leads to panic attacks, isolation, or thoughts of self-harm, it is time to reach out to a professional.
FAQ
Is anxiety normal?
Yes. Anxiety can be a normal response to stress, uncertainty, and overload. The important question is how intense it is, how long it lasts, and whether it interferes with everyday life.
What can I do when anxiety hits suddenly?
Start with the body and the present moment: grounding, a glass of water, slow movement, touching an object nearby, or naming what you can see and hear.
What is the 5-4-3-2-1 grounding technique?
It is a way to bring attention back to your senses by naming things you can see, touch, hear, smell, and taste.
Why can news and social media make anxiety worse?
They can keep the nervous system focused on threat and uncertainty. Checking them first thing in the morning or before sleep can make anxiety harder to regulate.
When should I seek professional help for anxiety?
If anxiety lasts, disrupts sleep, eating, work, or relationships, leads to panic attacks or isolation, or includes thoughts of self-harm, professional support is needed.
OpenHalt
Anxiety can make everything feel urgent: a heartbeat, a headline, a message, a thought you cannot put down. Sometimes you need a place where you do not have to calm down before you are welcome.
In the OpenHalt anonymous chat, you can come in exactly as you are: mid-panic, awake at night, overwhelmed by news, or trying to get through an ordinary day while your body sounds an alarm. Write one sensation, one fear, or simply: “Can someone stay with me for a minute?”
You do not need to solve everything tonight. Sometimes the first step is having another person help you stay in the room, in the moment, and not alone with the spiral.
If you may harm yourself, feel unsafe, or need urgent medical attention, contact emergency services, a crisis line, a doctor, or a trusted person nearby first.
