According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, 18.1 percent of Americans—that’s 40 million of us—have anxiety. Since Trump was elected in late 2016, that number has gone up. Psychologists have noted a significant rise in “Trump-Related Anxiety,” Barnes and Noble has reported a 25 percent increase in sales of books related to anxiety, and I don’t know about you, but I can report that every single one of my friends is freaked the eff out.
Anxiety is, apparently, having a moment. But I was anxious before anxious was cool.
After leaving my radio hosting gig at Live Wire five years ago after a crippling two-day panic attack, I wrote a book (which was excerpted in this very publication) about spending a year doing things that scared me, in hopes it would teach my anxious brain that everything would be okay. As I was doing all these experiments, I realized that in the same way staying at home and watching increasingly mediocre Netflix comedy specials can become a habit, so can embarking on new adventures. And while I was and am a victim of the former habit, I have always yearned for the latter.
So I’m continuing those adventures in this column, but I’m also going to talk to people about ways in which I might calm down along the way, so it’s not just an un-scientific person allowing her easily triggered brain to run rampant.
My first adventure? Going on a book tour.