5 Misconceptions about Anxiety! | Kati Morton 

another myth: "you just need to relax! take a big breath and calm down!" Oh well...of course! I didn't remember to take a big breath! that's what the problem is all about... I'm not trying to be rude, some people who don't have experience with it, sincerely think it can help, but it can be a bit nerve-wrecking for me(and make me even more anxious!)

It's hard to tell people about anxiety because you know they won't understand it.

Myths/misinformed statements I hear: 1. You've always been a worrier-- that's just your personality! (Yes.. I started having panic attacks at age 8) 2. Meds are a crutch-- you just don't want to deal with your problems (it's very hard to deal with them but I'm too anxious to breathe) 3. Meds will heal you! (meds don't "heal" anxiety, they treat symptoms) 4. You're just taking meds because it's EASIER than dealing with the anxiety (meds suck. Side effects suck) 5. You just need to relax more, take some time off (that's not how any of this works) 6. If you use your tools, you won't have to deal with anxiety anymore (it's here for life, most likely) 7. What do you have to be stressed about? (if it was rational, it wouldn't be an anxiety disorder) 8. I get stressed too, but I just deal with it (yes, because stress isn't an anxiety disorder) 9. What are you so scared of? (literally everything... it's like the whole world is neon lava. I can't isolate the stimulus half the time) 10. You just need to loosen up a little (sometiems sticking to a routine is what keeps me sane!)

Your video quality has improved so much over the years, I love your videos, they are amazing and so informative! You really help working against stigmata in my opinion. Keep going and especially keep your beautiful smile representing your positive attitude towards life ☺️

One of the hardest parts for me about anxiety is that no one seems to understand how debilitating it can be. s I have moderate to severe anxiety as a result of complex PTSD. When I'm anxious in school, I tend to fidget a lot in school; this then makes me worry if everyone is watching me, and this ultimately distracts me and hinders my learning. It's a never-ending cycle!

I was in CBT for around 3 months and it was great, baring in mind I was told I had 'Severe Anxiety', before CBT i was actually a mess with life but it really helped me :)

"You're just shy." "Calm down." "Take a deep breath and relax!" ...HAHAHAHhhhhNO.

Great video!!! Not sure if this is a myth but I've heard it many times 'you don't look anxious' x

Thank you for this video Kati, another great one. I was diagnosed with GAD earlier this year, but have been struggling for years, it took a long time to get "heard" and to get help. I started with a group CBT program for GAD specifically, which really helped me to feel I wasn't such a freak as I felt,others were experiencing similar things. I still talk to people from my group now, months after it has ended, we keep in touch and support each other. part way through group it was identified that the level of depression my ongoing anxiety had caused was such that I was struggling to put in place the tools we were discussing in group so it was back to my GP surgery, and here I met the most amazing doctor, I will only see her now, she is fantastic! I started meds and carried on with group. when group ended I went on to one to one sessions and this and 5 weeks off work have helped enormously. now I am out the other side of this combination of interventions I feel better than I have for years! and my therapist and I worked on a good plan for maintaining progress and dealing with set backs. Actually could you do a video about maintaining progress (so post treatment good stuff to do) and/or dealing with set backs. Thank you x

Hi Kati! I just wanted to say thank you for what you do. Because of your videos I became more comfortable and confident in seeking out help. After over ten years of suffering from depression and anxiety I've finally began therapy and temporarily started medication. Already I am seeing improvements, and it's only been a month! You really impacted my life and for the first time in my life I believe I can get better. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Thank you!! so many people say these to me or just to get over it. I love your videos! they help so many people that suffer and people that don't understand these situations! round of applause for you!

Great video as usual, right to the point and straightforward! As an addition to the 5th point, I'd say that even if I'm not in any situations I can consider 'stressful' at the time, I'll just start worrying about hypothetical situations instead. I'll be anxious that something, anything, is going to go horribly wrong. I can catastrophise any situation imaginable. The anxiety unfortunately doesn't go away just because there's nothing logically worth worrying about.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. for this video not only just this video but this whole channel.!!

Great video as usual! Most of my anxiety comes from the pressure put on me to perform at a certain level, then restrictions are applied that make the goal almost unattainable. Then I realize that most of the anxiety is coming from within. I usually have much higher expectations than the people around me. It is hard to "lower" my standards of performance to fit the guidelines that are applied to the task, but life is much les stressful when I do.For example, everyday when my wife walks out the door she hugs me and says "Be safe and have a good day".I'm a guy, being safe AND having a good day don't go together. For me it's usually one or the other. Very stressful. (that was meant to be a light hearted and humorous example, not a shot at anxiety problems.)

So well said and presented. Keep up the great work.

I suffer wth anxiety,Sh,PTSD and I see a therapist and that has really helped and your videos have really helped as well

Once again, THANK YOU SO MUCH! ☺ You hit the nail on the head! EVERYBODY needs to see this and realize that all of these things are real, and that their misconceptions and assumptions hurt! Thank you so much! XOXO

Doing CBT has made a massive impact on my life over the past few months. My anxiety is almost non existent, I'm just working my confidence now. I wish i had sought help much sooner, but I'm glad i did anyway. This channel helped me to make steps in the right direction. 😊

My friend told me that people who have anxiety disorders are weak. Ermm I have an anxiety disorder but I didn't tell him but saying weak to someone who is extremely anxious, scared and almost wanna give up almost the whole time but still survives at the end of the day.. Just doesn't makes sense

I begin my CBT therapy this week with a new therapist. (I haven't been to therapy for years!) Thanks to Kati's advice on her videos, along with a great recommendation from my GP, I am moving toward healthier mind and body! (Lavender essential oil helps me too!)

Hey Kati, great video! I was wondering if you'd be able to do a video on what to do when you can't get any more therapy sessions? It'd be a massive help! Thank you, keep up the great videos :) xx

Very helpful and validating video thank u

thank you for making these videos, they make me feel better a reassured that what im going through is normal. please dont stop making videos! :D

You don’t even know how much ur videos have helped me thanks for them

Queen! thanks for making people undersand

i love ur videos theyre so helpful!! i was wandering if u could do one on psychotic depression pls!x

Yes Kati! You saved the one that drives me nuts for last..so true! If it was something we could stop just like that so many wouldnt have a problem with it. Loved the bloopers xoxo

Great video!

Please do this for PTSD! :D I always love the bloopers!

Hi kati, this really helped thanks.

keep calm and take your valium

I would love a video on dating anxiety. I've managed to conquer my anxiety for the most part, but dating is just that one hurdle I can't seem to jump.

Hey Kati! Could you possibly do a video on how to get help alone at a young age? Like visiting a doctor and what to say when you don't know what's wrong? I'm 15 and am really struggling but no one in my life knows what's going on. I want to see a doctor just to know for sure what's going on for me, but I'm way to anxious about it. I don't know how to approach this alone, but I know I'm getting worse in myself. Thank you Kati, I live your videos!!x

Hi Katy my friend told me to watch your videos because I suffer from anxiety . I think I've always had anxiety but no where near this bad. I've always felt very happy as a person but when I met my partner something in my brain snapped!! I became angry very quickly to everything, also became impatient with everything and the list goes on then it turned to worrying a lot and feeling emotionless. The weird thing is that it's all hit when I met my partner and he isn't the cause of any of the anger and negativity that just came from no where . I started to worry about the clouds and even the moon , I would say " has the moon always looked like that? I just don't understand how I was this happy person always and living a life of struggle and being around toxic people and environments and then things where so much better when I met my partner but then all this anger and worry and anxiety came when my life was 100 times better

Therapy and medication helps out alot.

is it normal to not want to go anywhere anymore? or not enjoy doing stuff like you use to?

"Avoid stressful situations".....I wish! It's like I have some sort of stress magnet attached to me. It just shows up and BOOM. Thanks for another great video Kati, very interesting..

I try to challenge my anxiety everyday and get out of my comfort zone more. I have managed without taking medication since last May and although I am a lot better now, I still struggle and have my bad days. I find getting out like going for a walk or cycling really helps and I find my adult colouring book so therapeutic and relaxing. I also have a 10 minute meditation app on my phone which is helpful.

Kati, can you talk about RLS? Love your videos. Thanks!

Could you also possibly do a video on different types of anxiety attacks, If there are any? Thank you x

Thank uou

Definitely know about avoidance, haven't been in the kitchen in my flat since I moved in (September) because I don't want to see my flat mates/cook in front of them/eat in front of them...the one time I did I was so anxious my hands were shaking and I dropped something and it made a loud noise and it didn't go well yay me

Katie, I have been watching you're helpful clips for two days now as I have suffered with Anxiety for over 5 years now. I get really good at stopping the attacks peak but can never seem to get a handle on controlling it as it starts! I am terrible at thinking iv always got something wrong health wise and every little sign/symptom sets me off. What tools can I use to help? Thank you so much ☺️ Chrissy X

But really. You help me see that there are ways to help this. Thanks.☺

I have social anxiety and it sucks. Right now in my psychology class we are working on a group project and it's making my anxiety really bad do you have any tips.

thank God you talked about the "avoid stressful situations" bullshit because I always felt like it was my fault for having my anxiety.

I have Social Anxiety. What I get told is to socialize to get rid of my anxiety...thanks alot doctors for making me having a mental break down in a store with no one i knew...

+kati could you talk about cope ahead as this is great and i had never heard of it until dbt i think its really helpful and validating....

love this as usual and I am a huge therapy lover. lol. but I want to remind people that there is absolutely nothing wrong with getting on meds AND going to therapy. I just am a little concerned that some may be anxious if they don't feel like they r getting help fast enough. or they r trying everything, all the technics they were taught and still don't feel "normal". there r antidepressants that can help along with therapy. just my thoughts. (me and both of my adult sons have all, but at different times, suffered with this and horrible panick attacks)

I've had Generalised Anxiety disorder for about 15 years and been through all the CBT sessions about 12 times and although it work at first it still comes back every time.

does she still do FAQ's? if not, is there still a way to get our questions answered? thanks :)

I've social anxiety for 6 years now, and for trying to avoid stressful situation I don't leave my room for a entire year. and that wasn't the solution, it only made my life worse, and destroys my fisical and mental health. for now I've been in treatment for 4 years with a sociologist and a psychiatrist and medication. but I'm feeling better than ever :)

I loved this kati I have been having a issue I feel like my brain is gonna exsplode and its a physical feeling I dunno if its to do with ASD traits but I dunno how to cope with it other than banging my head of the desk .pls help kati .

One of my very very good friends has anxiety, so i know alot about it. She sees a therapist but when she has an anxiety attack, im there for her. I want to learn all I can to help her better. (obviously I'm not the only one there when she has an attack )

Hey Kati, I really feel that your videos are so beneficial, thanks for all the effort! btw I have a suggestion : why don't you use some animations in your videos? it would be cool!

Love the content cop outro

any videos about coping with extreme phobias? I am so afraid of spiders that in seeing a 3 second shot of one in a movie gave me a panic attack that lasted about 5 minutes with intense shivers, sobbing and random body spasms.

I am haveing a hard time getting any relief through my therapy and med. My BPD fules it as well. I have had GAD it since I was a child and now panic disorder as well. I just want one day where my brain will not worry obsessively

Hi Kati! Could you possibly make a video explaing 'Pure Obsessional OCD' please? My therapist said that I show traits of Pure O, I am still learning about it and how it attacks the things/people you love but I think that if you explained it like you doin your other videos (which you do very well :)) will help me so much :) x

I recently rejected a referral to CBT because I honestly don't feel ready for it yet and my anxiety makes me not want to go, but now I'm feeling guilty because it could help me :(

Personally, I'm actually doing psychodynamic therapy for anxiety disorder and not CBT and yes it takes longer (not forever), but it's only been two months and I find it already very helpful. I'm just saying this to reassure people that don't find CBT that helpful, there is other ways and don't get discouraged if your first therapy doesn't feel helpful.

Hi Kati, I was wandering what's your opinion on the book "furiously happy". It a humorous book about mental illnesses. It sounds a horrible idea but it's my favorite book.

Thanks for clearing it. I was dependent on medicine for anxiety. Thanks for clearing it. Can you help how to control or stop anxiety when we have one. I have it everyday when I work in office and it hampers my performance. I don't want to depend on my medicine. Please help

I kept avoiding stressful situations for years.

I had anxiety I had a hard time with sound last year in school I couldn’t even make a day of school then I moved on the high school I still couldn’t make any days to school THEN I moved to another school and at that point I could make an entire day of school and a month later I could actually make it to my classes every one thought I needed medicine to reduce stress but the medicine just made me more stressed (they still forced me to use it) but it turns out I just needed the teacher I have now.

Can you do more videos about anxiety?

How about a video for mums/parents that are struggling with anxiety/depression/feeling overwhelmed 😰

I was in line to meet a youtuber not too long ago, and the girl in front of me who I had been talking to started having a panic attack. I knew what was going on, but I had no idea how to help her. I asked an event organiser where the exit was so she could get some fresh air, and she quickly rushed off. I felt so hopeless for being clueless. What's the best thing to do when you're with someone who's experiencing a panic attack?

Can you plz do a video of if you have social anxiety or if it's just shyness. I don't know if it's social anxiety or shyness.

What a lot of people don't seem to understand about anxiety and depression is that anxiety and depression themselves are not illnesses. How ever there are disorders that can effect when we feel anxious or depressed by limiting certain hormones in the brain. If that hormone is there then it's likely you don't have a disorder. You just haven't learned to process complicated and challenging situations yet. Which is what therapy helps you do. Most people these days don't actually suffer from any kind of disease or disorder. They just haven't learned how to process difficult situations properly. So they get anxious. Or they haven't learned how to accept things that are sad. So they often get depressed.

i developed driving anixety two years ago. i started having panic attacks driving on the freeway. i dont think ill ever be able to drive on the freeway again. i can only drive around the neighborhood. anixety has effected my body too. ive been to the ER twice because i thought i was having a heart attack

I wish more people knew about number 3. So many general practitioners pacify people with anxiety meds and don't even suggest therapy.

#KatiFAQ Hey Kati, So I know you did a video on Mental Health and Chronic Illness's a while ago, but could you please do another one. Can you please include ways of dealing with being absent from school for a long time. I am 16, I have a chronic illness, and man it's lonely. It's really hard when no one can see how sick you are, so they think you're making it up and then you even start to believe that yourself eventually. How do I learn to accept that I'm sick? Thanks so much. Alyssa xxx

I'm a couple years late to the discussion, but one belief even I had that I hope is a myth is that social anxiety is a teen-aged malady we outgrow. I just turned 62 and have been in CBT for about a year for SAD. My teenage years were literally last century. As a complete layman I sometimes wonder if hormonal changes in middle age can have the same devastating effects as the changes we endured in adolescence.

My least favorite myth is that every form of an anxiety disorder involves some strong degree of social anxiety. I have GAD and I'm an extrovert, and have no issue with normal social situations.

I tried seeing a psychiatrist two years ago I was put off because I start to stutter & muddle up my words. I feel like now things have got so much worse with my Anxiety/depression.

I've been from suffering from an anxiety disorder for a year now. My problems stem from intrusive thoughts that come from fear of intimacy and of inadequacy. My family doesn't get how devastating these demons in my head have been. My fiancée believes in me and that I can control my anxiety. I have to ignore the crap in my head that makes it difficult to get m normal thought patterns back. Can I undo a years worth of damage? I want to believe that I can get myself back to normal. Katie is there anything you can recommend?

I have anxiety and its casued me to loose concetration and I started to stop eating cause of it I also can't sleepy mum know and isn't taking me to a doctor its worsening and she is trying to help but thats stressing me out even more and idk what to do

What is DBT? And yes I've had a social worker but she's not that effective bc all she does is listen and offers very little feedback. The majority of my mindfulness strategies have been from my fiancée. I'm preparing to leave the negative environment by way of social assistance then seek a psychologist. I can't do therapy here. Who can you recommend in the Ontario area?

Especially during this pandemic

#KatiFAQ Hi, Kati. I have a question for you. I am a thirteen year old girl. Within the past year and a half, more than a dozen people that I know have passed away, most of them being relatives. I have been trying to bring myself to agree to talk to a professional, but every time I get the chance, I quickly back out. Recently, one of my school's staff members passed away and it made me realize that I am actually rejecting any and all opportunities to talk about my feelings, and am bottling everything up. Even when a trained trauma therapist, whom I trust and feel comfortable around offered to talk to me, I declined her offer. I am wondering if this could be a sign of denial? Or if you have any advice for me to not reject the help when people offer it to me. It just is so difficult to open up, even though I know it will be so easy once I begin. I really enjoy watching your videos and they always make me feel better. Thanks in advance!

I just subscribed!✔

i had anxiety attacks for 3 mouths it is not going away it feel like I am losing hope and I now my self

Can you talk about how to help with not wanting to let go of your disorder because it's become so much of you that you don't know life without it?

Hi Kati, my name is Emma and I have a very important question, what do I do if I keep telling my mom I'm feeling extremely depressed, sad and super anxious all the time. And I have said that I want to go to therapy but I feel as if she is not taking it seriously and not seeing how bad it really is getting though I have asked and tried to get it going multiple times. Thank you for reading Emma

hey Kati, I love your videos they are very helpful. I don't know if you can answer this but, I have been struggling with depression for 3 years and after a failed attempt of getting help with freshman year I do new have the courage to go to my school's counseling center one talk to someone. I have been managing a lot of things on my own and some things are working but there are days when I get really sad and I feel a pain in my chest and start crying. My family is not at all supportive of me, I know I'm old enough to go to therapy without my parents knowing but I'm really scared don't know how to shake the sadness when I really need to. can you help me? from: Brittany

Can you please make a video on physical abuse??:) kindof like this one

I’m pretty sure I suffer from an anxiety disorder, and I’m depressed. I’ve dealt with anxiety for about 5+ years, and my parents know that. It’s hard to talk to people. I want to die. And all the time my father complains about all these things about me. Then he demands that I talk to him, and then I can’t ever bring myself to say it. Then he always says “I thought you could trust me. I’m a good father! I’m here for you, and I’ll do anything for you” but he doesn’t really do much. He dumps his responsibilities on other people, and he treats me like I’m a slave. One day, a few moths ago I told him that he is one of the reasons for my anxiety, and he got all defensive, saying things like “why? I’ve done absolutely nothing wrong!” And “Maddy, you hardly have anxiety. You don’t need therapy, all you need is me. I’ll help you through it myself.” Present day here we are on the verge of living on the streets, because of him. I look at my body every day, wondering what it would look like if I did have scars. Luckily, I haven’t done anything. But just a confession is that earlier today I took a knife out of the drawer, and I just laid on my bed, staring at my stretch marks. I almost cut them up. I still want to. I’ve tried to choke myself, and I’ve beat myself up. I’m so afraid to tell people anything. I have social anxiety. My family treats me like I’m a little kid, and everyone (literally almost everyone I know has bullied me in some way) has told me I’m worthless, and that I’m just another one of those attention seekers. Over the summer, I lost my grandfather who was the one person I could talk to. My cousin (let’s call him yellow) gets out of control very often. About a month after his passing, yellow (he’s 10) attacked me when he got angry. He threatened to end my life. He’s told me to kill myself before. But he got so mad he threw himself on top of me, went behind me in the couch, wrapped his legs around me and choked me, while biting me on a pressure point until I bled. I have the scar from it. But I luckily got out, and threw him onto the floor, ran outside, and told his sister to call 911. They arrived, and after a little while they took him to a mental asylum for almost a month. (He was at 3 strikes) his dad come home from Texas, and he’s also a criminal, so yeah. Double trouble. My family is a mess, and so am I. I avoid everyone. But that’s all I should say, because this is super long. Buuuuuuut.... hopefully I get over this before it’s too late.

i did CBT for a bit less than a year and the paper work made me panic it just didnt work for me :(

you remind me SO much of brie larson

I may just show this to my boss! I work as a military civilian for a Child Development Center. It's an incredibly stressful, but ultimately exponentially more rewarding job. I'm Autistic. I'm Trans. I have extreme co-morbid anxiety. When I'm "decompensating," after a period of relatively fantastic compensation for my conditions, I'm met with a ton of destructive criticism. I know I'm fucking up in the realm of the Neuro-Typical. But I'm still performing above average in my skill-set in very important ways. A kid has a panic reaction. I remove them, stay with them, using calming tones the entire time. The "tantrum" subsides inside of a few minutes. Another educator steps in in my absence, the episode can last for 30 minutes, or way longer. I have other educators pawn off difficult children to me, because I make the "problem" go away, when REALLY, all I'm doing is my JOB, handling the challenging behaviors and specific needs of my over-stressed military kids. But my anxiety makes it difficult for me to leave the house. I worry about being late, then I put off well-rehearsed routine, and, lo and behold, I'M LATE! My tardiness is then taken as irrefutable evidence that I'm incompetent at my job, even if only by the 10 minutes that it takes to catch the next bus, unless I can prove, without a doubt, otherwise. No other factors seem to come into play. Yet another symptom of my "mental disability," because I have trouble connecting to the perspectives of other(adult)s. And then there's the trans thing. When I'm misgendered, in my own classroom, in front of my own kids and their parents by another educator, it makes me flip. my. fucking. shit. And then when I leave the classroom to deal with my emotional outburst in private, induced by a co-worker, I'm found at fault for putting undue stress on my colleague. How. Messed up. Is that!?! I always come back after 3-20 minutes to do my job, despite my distress, because my kids need me more than I need to withdraw. Thankfully, I get some understanding for this behavior, though it's still seen as irresponsible on my part by at least 50% of my colleagues. I needed a small rant. Now Imma record a video about it. Thanks for helping me organize my thought patterns a bit better.

#6 Telling someone to stop worring actually works

Hi Kati, I haven't been getting on with my mom at all recently. She's constantly saying that I'm not right in the head, or that she's taking me to the doctors, or that I've got adhd when I haven't. I have a history of self harm and she never cared about me when that was going on but because I get angry easily and because I am depressed or have terrible mood swings she thinks I have adhd and won't stop going on at me. It's making things with my self harm get worse and I'm having stronger urges and thoughts everyday even though I haven't done it in around 3 months. She never listens to anything I have to say and treats me very differently from my sister. Is there anything I could do to get her to leave me alone and stop going on at me? Thanks x

Whenever I hear anyone describe anxiety, it's always the physical symptoms, the racing heart beat, the sweaty palms, etc. Is it possible to have an anxiety disorder and not have any physical symptoms?

My husband and family keep telling me it’s all in my head like I’m crazy 😜

#Katifaq Hey Kati. I am a student in college suffering from anxiety. I am considering seeing a therapist but my college is located in a very rural area where there are no CBT therapists for some distance. I am also graduating in a year and a half so any therapist I see locally will be very temporary and I have no clue where I will end up for grad school. I have seen stuff online about therapists that have Skype or phone sessions and I was wondering if this is something you would recommend. If so, how would you recommend that I find the best one for me? Thank you for all that you do! Your videos have really helped me. :)

I have ptsd...Anxiety disorer and im also physically disabled. People ten to push me literally into situation that freek me out I blank without even thinking about it. They feel its best to do think but it really isnt. with ptsd of course theres exposure that needs to take place but i can never do this safely at my own pace. Im so confused help. It just makes everything worst

#katiFAQ HELLO!!! my question is- what is the process you take to tell your clients about a diagnosis you believe they have? do you just come out and say it? I'm afraid that my therapist is just going to drop the bomb that I have an anxiety disorder or bipolar and I although I would like to finally know what to call it, I'm terrified I won't be able to 'handle' the truth and I would make backwards progress :( Can therapists 'give' you a diagnosis but never tell the client? Sorry if that's confusing.

Hi Kati, I have a very important question that has be bugging my mind a lot lately... Turns out that I used to follow my former psychologist instagram account and I recently noticed that she edited her so i cannot search for her nor follow her nor see her stuff.I'm not sure why she has gotten like that about me. I did have a risky episode towards myself once, years ago at the bathroom in the center where i went for group therapy but it was nothing lethal....Is her attitude right???It really makes me feel like a monster..... Thank you.

unfortunately I have problems whit that