Sometimes people wonder whether what they’re feeling is stress or anxiety. Stress is usually tied to a specific circumstance — a deadline, a conflict, or a life event. Anxiety can feel more persistent and may continue even when the stressor isn’t present. Both can feel uncomfortable, and both impact the same body systems — but understanding the difference can help you choose the right strategies and support.

Social media algorithms are pushing us to our emotional limits, leaving us feeling overwhelmed, anxious, and sometimes downright crazy. Social media has the potential to connect us in powerful ways, but as this new research shows, it’s also contributing to a rise in emotional turbulence. The algorithms driving our feeds are pushing us to our limits, often leaving us feeling more anxious, paranoid, and disconnected from reality,

By incorporating these tools into your routine, you can take proactive steps to manage anxiety and improve your mental well-being. This study highlights how mindfulness-based approaches, such as Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), can lead to meaningful improvements in anxiety levels. The program focuses on cultivating awareness in the present moment and has been shown to help individuals manage their anxiety in a more balanced way.

By using calming techniques and fostering social connection, we can return to a state of calm and reestablish balance in our nervous system. Polyvagal Theory suggests that these responses are governed by the autonomic nervous system (ANS), specifically the vagus nerve, which regulates physiological states of arousal. The theory posits that our ANS operates on a continuum from safety to danger, and the body shifts between states of calm and activation based on perceived threat