Summary:
In this course, we talk about what stress and anxiety really are (hint: they aren't necessarily bad things). We put stress and anxiety in a larger context and explain how they can even be beneficial depending on the context.
For those instances when stress and anxiety are clearly doing us harm, we cover tools aimed to help us better regulate and recover from stress. These are not just tools designed to reduce our stress or make it go away. They are also aimed at helping us increase our stress tolerance and improve our capacity.
Finally, we unpack the difference between regulating and numbing. Many of us lean on tools that are more like frenemies than friends.
Understanding Anxiety
Most of us have been "anxious" at one time or another - but what exactly is anxiety? How is it defined? In this course, we will talk about emotions more broadly and put stress and anxiety in a larger context. We tend to fear that which we don't understand. In better understanding anxiety, we find that it reduces the tight grip it can hold over us.
Tools for Managing Stress
If we want to effectively respond to stress and anxiety, we need to have the right tools. We also need to know which tools are appropriate and in which context. In this course, we talk about the difference between short-term, medium-term and long-term stress and we discuss tools aimed to help us navigate each type.
Anxiety's Frenemies
In an attempt to regulate our stress and reduce our discomfort, many of us lean on strategies that may feel good in the short-term, but have some major long-term drawbacks. In our course, we will talk about the difference between regulating and numbing. We will also cover next steps for those who want to learn more.