We're all suspended in a terrifying uncertainty right now, and it's keeping many of us in a state of constant vigilance that exhausts us even as we sleep.

For those with chronic anxiety, uncertainty doesn't just feel uncomfortable, it feels unbearable. Even the most ordinary moments can seem precarious. When we try to articulate this, people without anxiety often hear negativity. What they're actually hearing is what worry sounds like in its mother tongue.

I've spent my entire life studying my own fear. First as a child, without words, awash in the immediate textures and sensations of terror, and then later, through every phase of adulthood.

What follows are just a handful of resources that have genuinely helped me. I've included some books for parents of anxious children, but I HIGHLY recommend non-parents, who might have been anxious as children, give them a read.

I have zero point zero children and I cannot stress how helpful they’ve been.

For decades I kept my psychological struggles private. Then I started talking about them with people I trusted, and then with everyone, and it changed everything. Dramatically.

When we hide our internal lives, the fear of exposure grows larger than the thing we're hiding. Our feelings shouldn't function as secrets, because treating them as secrets tells us there's something shameful to conceal. There isn't.

Everyone suffers. Everyone worries. Not enough people say so out loud.

If there were ever a time to chant in unison “I’m goddamn terrified,” it’s now.

When I was writing Little Panic, I'd tell people vaguely that I was "writing about anxiety." Every single person—and I mean every single person—leaned in immediately to confess they were riddled with anxiety too. "If you need to interview someone," they'd say, "I'm the poster child."

This happened so consistently it taught me something crucial: I wasn't as alone as I believed, and neither are you.

Jack Kornfield is a best-selling author, mindfulness teacher, and practitioner who trained in Thailand as a Buddhist monk. He co-founded the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, MA, with Sharon Salzberg and Joseph Goldstein. He’s one of the founding teachers of Spirit Rock Center in Woodacre, California, and one of the teachers to introduce mindfulness to the West. He also has a Ph.D. in psychology.

“Non-Clinging Awareness” is a three-part guided meditation—I only do the first meditation, which is eight minutes long.

This meditation, by Jack Kornfield, is not simply soothing. It actively teaches you a practical skill—invaluable for those with anxiety—by taking you inside your body to experience a recent discomfort or challenge. It walks you through it, showing how you might have done things differently. It teaches you how to connect with the part you wish were more present.

While I recommend listening to it with your eyes closed the first few times, once you’ve familiarized yourself with the exercise, try to listen to it while walking or cooking or doing some other activity that allows you to half-listen. It’s calming and a great way to tap into the best version of yourself.

For me, it is, without a doubt, the most reliable way to feel more grounded and centered.

Full disclosure: I only listen to the first 8 minutes.

(Another full disclosure: This is my brother Eddie Stern's app, but it helps me in my most anxious moments. For instance, I told a Moth story in front of a live audience for a Mainstage event at St. Ann's Church in NYC and had a major panic attack beforehand (my first in years).

The Breathing App was the only thing—the ONLY THING—that calmed me down. Please don't tell my brother. I have a reputation to maintain as an irreverent little sister.)

The app teaches something called Resonant Breathing, which resets the braking mechanism of your nervous system.

The website explains, “By using the app for just a few minutes, your nervous system enters into a state of equilibrium, sending signals of balance, mental calm, and inner peace to your body and mind.

The app is like a stress reset button. It is perfect for people who have little access to guidance and time or who don't want to (or say they can't) meditate. The app is simple, and it doesn't take a long time for the breathing technique to be effective.”

YOU CAN DOWNLOAD THE APP RIGHT HERE.

Robert Leahy is the author and editor of 28 books, and the director of the American Institute for Cognitive Therapy in NYC. He did his fellowship in psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania Medical School when it was under the direction of Dr. Aaron Beck, the father of cognitive therapy.

He also has a blog at Psychology Today called “Anxiety Files.”

Those who are chronically worried and anxious believe that these feelings prepare us for the worst and keep ourselves and others safe.

They don’t.

Dr. Leahy’s The Worry Cure is an indispensable, comprehensive resource that helps you identify, challenge, and face a variety of anxieties. It leads you through a seven-step process that is practical and easy to follow.

The techniques help you to identify your unproductive style of anxious worrying, recognize the maladaptive safety behaviors you've employed, and challenge the pattern of seeing, thinking, and behaving that you’ve developed over the course of your life with anxiety.

I pull this book out constantly. It reminds me of the things I cannot remember when I'm anxious, and it instantly calms me down.

A child therapist, based in Arizona, Natasha Daniels has created an anxiety empire for children with anxiety: an online school, a Facebook group, a YouTube channel, a podcast, webinars, parenting classes, and a support group.

She’s published innumerable articles and offers a fantastic list of anxiety-reduction products to buy for your anxious kids and anxious self.

She believes that therapy for children should be a team effort and works hand-in-hand with parents, knowing that parents will learn as many new skill sets as their children. Her dedication to teaching children the tools to crush their anxiety, and walking parents through the same process, while they all grow in confidence, is nothing short of awe-inspiring.

I learned about Natasha Daniels when she invited me on her podcast. We had an amazing conversation and I was floored by the amount of work she was doing, and now am simply grateful.

Here's her ULTIMATE LIST of PRODUCTS to HELP REDUCE CHILD ANXIETY

This is a chew toy for stressed-out kids, teens, and ADULTS!

Dr. Tamar Chansky is a writer and a psychologist with a mission to teach people how to make their minds a safer place to live. She founded the Children’s and Adult Center for OCD and Anxiety in Plymouth Meeting, PA.

(She’s also my friend who continues to love me even though I owe her a text from a month ago!!)

Her mission is to de-stigmatize and normalize the experience of having anxiety.

She knows firsthand that anxiety treatment works.

You might have even come across her in my newsletter.

She is the author of many books, but the one I turn to most often is Freeing Your Child From Anxiety. This book guides parents to navigate their child’s anxiety disorder, but it’s also helpful for adults who suffer from childhood anxiety (hello!) It helps parents identify what is typical anxiety and what is atypical anxiety.

This is a solutions-based approach to challenging and facing anxiety from a renowned expert in the field.

She has a series of "Freeing" books from Negative Thinking to OCD. Here are the ones I own, and cherish.

If that’s not enough, she also has an educational website called WorryWiseKids to deepen adults’ knowledge of how they can help kids see they are smarter and wiser than their anxiety leads them to believe.

Bring Change to Mind is a nonprofit organization dedicated to encouraging dialogue about mental health, and to raising awareness, understanding, and empathy. Actress & activist Glenn Close co-founded Bring Change to Mind in 2010 after her sister, Jessie Close, was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and her nephew, Calen Pick, with schizoaffective disorder.

MISSION

To end the stigma and discrimination surrounding mental illness.

VISION

We create multimedia campaigns, curate storytelling movements, and develop youth programs to encourage a diverse cultural conversation around mental health.

NORTH STAR STATEMENT

BC2M activates and empowers you to join our fight to end stigma and discrimination surrounding mental illness. United, we will create and advance innovative approaches and partnerships to start conversations around mental illness, share resources, and tell stories so everyone can thrive in a stigma free world.

Think that there's a benchmark of "Normalcy" we're all supposed to hit? Think again! Here's the "There's No Normal" PSA.

And a host of great looking graphics to share on social media, like these:

Don't have the words, or don't know how to talk to someone about a specific issue? Have no fear! The How to Talk To Anyone About feature is here!

In their own words, The Child Mind institute is "dedicated to transforming the lives of children and families struggling with mental health and learning disorders by giving them the help they need.

We’ve become the leading independent nonprofit in children’s mental health by providing gold-standard evidence-based care, delivering educational resources to millions of families annually, training educators in underserved communities, and developing tomorrow’s breakthrough treatments."

THEY HAVE A GREAT WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

And their website is filled with incredible information and interactive features, like:

Ask An Expert section.

Parenting guides

Symptom Checker

And their newsletter, which I love, has their full archive available online.

Also, don’t forget these resources for you every May!

BLOGS

I'm a big fan of Nick Wignall's newsletter. Practical tips for emotional growth.

WEBSITES

The Mighty is a website community for everyone suffering from mental health issues. This is a place for people to share their personal struggles, and find partners in suffering and healing alike.

The Cure for Chronic Pain. I first heard about Nicole Sachs, a writer, and psychotherapist, from my sister. A student of John Sarno's, her workshops, website, and podcast, are all immense resources for people with chronic pain, anxiety, and depression.

PODCASTS

Minds and Mics hosted by the therapist, Nick Wignall. These are casual conversations with experts in the mental health and psychology worlds, helping us to better understand how our minds work.

You, Me, Empathy is founded by Non Wels, a master of feeling, and an empathetic leader, creating safe spaces for everyone to share their stories.

Anxiety Bites by Jen Kirkman. Kirkman is a comedian who suffers from anxiety and is aiming to normalize an experience felt by literally everyone! She's an amazing interviewer. Here's my episode!

And you? What are your favorite resources?

Let me know in the comments!

Thank you for reading.

Until next week, I will remain…

Amanda