YOU ARE NOT ALONE - A companion online community discussion board for The Mental Illness Happy Hour podcast with Paul Gilmartin

I don't work for them, but I love calm.com and have found it to be easy to use to ease my anxiety for the past six months. There's a free app as well or you can use the desktop version. There are several relaxing nature-based soundtracks and visuals you can choose from, and you can select from one of the lessons about mindfulness meditation (roughly 10 minutes each), a guided meditation (a full range of times), or simply a timer with no one talking so that you don't fall asleep while meditating. This is one of the few coping skills I've been able to stick with for over a month at a time.

I got the app after I heard one of the hosts of a comedy podcast I listen to talking about it. In theory I really like it, and I can see how it could be helpful...but...I feel kind of silly using it? I don't know. It's this weird mental block where meditation makes me feel super conscious. I don't know quite how to overcome that. I've had a lot of people recommend meditation and mindfulness to deal with my anxiety, so I'm trying to work through it.