Elizaveta Friesem
  • About
  • Books
    • Media is us >
      • Principles of communication
      • Micro- and macropower
      • ACE model
      • Description of chapters
      • When conflicts get out of control
    • Hypertexts >
      • Me, looking for meaning >
        • A >
          • Am I strong or am I weak?
        • B >
          • Binaries
          • Both sides
          • Bureaucracy
        • C >
          • Can I give myself credit for being empathetic?
          • Choice
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          • Common sense
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        • D >
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          • Do children ask themselves about the purpose of life?
          • Doing the right thing
        • E >
          • Emotional pain
          • Empathy
          • Empathy as a matter of self-preservation
          • Everybody has their struggles
          • Everybody is connected
          • Explain/excuse conflation
        • F >
          • Feelings and emotions
          • Forgetting about your purpose
          • Free will
        • G >
          • Good vs. Bad
        • H >
          • How much do we understand each other?
          • Human brain
          • Human nature
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          • Human thinking
          • Human thinking is nonlinear
          • Hurt people hurt people
          • Hypertext books
        • I >
          • I am an optimist
          • Ideas
          • "I'll never understand!"
          • Individual meanings vs. shared meanings
          • Inner compass
          • Interpretation
          • "It is what it is"
        • J
        • K >
          • Knowing your true purpose
          • Knowledge
        • L >
          • Language
          • List of completed pages
          • Literal vs. nonliteral communication
        • M >
          • Make Sense
          • May I meet this, too, with kindness
          • Meaning as importance
          • Mean and stupid
          • My Anxiety
          • Meaning
          • Meaningless
          • Meaning wars
          • Meaning of life
          • Meaning communities
          • Meanings perceived by animals
          • Meaning-seeking vs. meaning-making
          • Media
          • (Mis)understanding each other's needs
          • My perfectionism
          • My quest for meaning
        • N >
          • Norms
        • O >
          • Objectification
          • On being a scholar
          • On being a writer
          • On being right
        • P >
          • Paradox
          • Parenting
          • Privilege
          • Polarization
          • Postmodern worldview
          • Postmodern philosophy
          • Power
          • Power of the mind
          • Problem/solution binary
        • Q
        • R >
          • Reality
          • Rhizome in philosophy
        • S >
          • Science, religion and art
          • Self-awareness and empathy of higher order
          • Self-awareness
          • Self-empathy
          • Stories we tell
          • Society vs Individual
          • Subjectivity and objectivity
          • Suggested citation format
          • Synesthesia
        • T >
          • "The Death of the Author"
          • The importance of having a purpose
          • Truth
        • U >
          • Understanding ourselves
          • Us and them
        • V >
          • Verbal vs. nonverbal communication
          • Violence in the human nature
        • W >
          • What does it mean to "understand"?
          • What is a text?
          • What we can learn about ourselves from media
          • What is "natural"?
          • What's the point?
          • What will this project become?
          • Where do meanings come from?
          • Why am I trying to stay sane?
          • Why do people hurt each other?
          • Why is language so unhelpful?
          • Why do everyday objects make sense?
          • Why do misunderstandings happen?
        • X
        • Y
        • Z
      • Power of meanings // Meanings of power
  • Editing
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My Anxiety

PAGE IN PROGRESS
What you see here is a page of my hypertext book Me, Looking for Meaning. Initially empty, it will slowly be filled with thoughts, notes, and quotes. One day, I will use them to write a coherent entry, similar to these completed pages. See this post to better understand my creative process. Thank you for your interest and patience!

here are a few things that learned about anxiety:
- it is a shapeshifter (appearing in many different forms)
- it does have patterns
-it can seem like it’s useful (to push me to achieve more)
-it is not important why (I have anxiety about certain things as opposed to others - fear of bouncing balls?)
-it is something one “inherits” through genes and environment (link to vicious circle)
-you cannot force it to go away, but you can manage it if you work with it with kindness and patience (mindfulness)

when everything is ok: the feeling that I am forgetting something that might be wrong, the urge to think about it in order to find what’s wrong (ruminating, perseveration)

Connection between perfectionism and anxiety
Anxiety as underlying cause of perfectionism
Being anxious > keep asking yourself , Am I forgetting anything? Have I done enough? Can I do better?

​anxiety and perfectionism > vicious circle

connection between creativity and anxiety: creativity can help soothe anxiety, but it can also trigger anxiety, as my own fight with perfectionism exemplifies
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    • About
    • Books
      • Media is us >
        • Principles of communication
        • Micro- and macropower
        • ACE model
        • Description of chapters
        • When conflicts get out of control
      • Hypertexts >
        • Me, looking for meaning >
          • A >
            • Am I strong or am I weak?
          • B >
            • Binaries
            • Both sides
            • Bureaucracy
          • C >
            • Can I give myself credit for being empathetic?
            • Choice
            • Circumstances
            • Cognitive biases
            • Common sense
            • Communication
            • Content and form of this book
            • Coronavirus and me
            • Culture
            • Cycle of violence
          • D >
            • Depression
            • Do children ask themselves about the purpose of life?
            • Doing the right thing
          • E >
            • Emotional pain
            • Empathy
            • Empathy as a matter of self-preservation
            • Everybody has their struggles
            • Everybody is connected
            • Explain/excuse conflation
          • F >
            • Feelings and emotions
            • Forgetting about your purpose
            • Free will
          • G >
            • Good vs. Bad
          • H >
            • How much do we understand each other?
            • Human brain
            • Human nature
            • Human needs
            • Human thinking
            • Human thinking is nonlinear
            • Hurt people hurt people
            • Hypertext books
          • I >
            • I am an optimist
            • Ideas
            • "I'll never understand!"
            • Individual meanings vs. shared meanings
            • Inner compass
            • Interpretation
            • "It is what it is"
          • J
          • K >
            • Knowing your true purpose
            • Knowledge
          • L >
            • Language
            • List of completed pages
            • Literal vs. nonliteral communication
          • M >
            • Make Sense
            • May I meet this, too, with kindness
            • Meaning as importance
            • Mean and stupid
            • My Anxiety
            • Meaning
            • Meaningless
            • Meaning wars
            • Meaning of life
            • Meaning communities
            • Meanings perceived by animals
            • Meaning-seeking vs. meaning-making
            • Media
            • (Mis)understanding each other's needs
            • My perfectionism
            • My quest for meaning
          • N >
            • Norms
          • O >
            • Objectification
            • On being a scholar
            • On being a writer
            • On being right
          • P >
            • Paradox
            • Parenting
            • Privilege
            • Polarization
            • Postmodern worldview
            • Postmodern philosophy
            • Power
            • Power of the mind
            • Problem/solution binary
          • Q
          • R >
            • Reality
            • Rhizome in philosophy
          • S >
            • Science, religion and art
            • Self-awareness and empathy of higher order
            • Self-awareness
            • Self-empathy
            • Stories we tell
            • Society vs Individual
            • Subjectivity and objectivity
            • Suggested citation format
            • Synesthesia
          • T >
            • "The Death of the Author"
            • The importance of having a purpose
            • Truth
          • U >
            • Understanding ourselves
            • Us and them
          • V >
            • Verbal vs. nonverbal communication
            • Violence in the human nature
          • W >
            • What does it mean to "understand"?
            • What is a text?
            • What we can learn about ourselves from media
            • What is "natural"?
            • What's the point?
            • What will this project become?
            • Where do meanings come from?
            • Why am I trying to stay sane?
            • Why do people hurt each other?
            • Why is language so unhelpful?
            • Why do everyday objects make sense?
            • Why do misunderstandings happen?
          • X
          • Y
          • Z
        • Power of meanings // Meanings of power
    • Editing
      • Me as your editor
      • How I will help you
      • Pricing
      • Privacy policy
    • Blog
    • Workshops
      • Five (easy) steps to become media literate
      • Surviving the polarization vortex
      • Understanding yourself
      • Not enough
    • Learn more
      • Bio
      • Talks and interviews
      • Essays
      • My poetry >
        • Russian poems >
          • Stranger
          • Lonely heart
          • Fairy tales
          • Dreams and nightmares
          • Puzzles
          • Moon
          • Seasons
          • Muse
          • Art
          • Games
          • Sketches
          • Nonsense
        • English poems
      • Educational materials
    • Contact me