Browse every article on stress, anxiety, depression and real-life emotional difficulties, written by Adewale Ademuyiwa.
You were fine last night. You even thought about the hard thing—your father's diagnosis, maybe, or some other weight you're carrying—and it felt manageable. Then you woke up crushed. Severe. Heavy. The kind of low that m…
You're at a work event, and your mind is racing. Am I blushing? Do I look weird? What are my hands doing? Did I just sound stupid? You're trying to catch problems before they get worse. Monitor everything, fix anything t…
The invitation arrives. A baby shower. Twenty-five people. Your closest friend. And before you've even decided whether to go, your brain is already working. You haven't said yes yet. But you're already planning your esca…
You finish wiping the floor, the toilet seat, the handles, the tap. Then you wipe yourself down with antibacterial wipes. One minute, one wipe per surface. And for a moment—relief. But here is the strange thing someone n…
The thought arrives without warning. What if something terrible happens to them? Your stomach drops. Your chest tightens. And before you can even process what's happening, you're already praying. Here's what nobody tells…
You've made real progress. The compulsive handwashing has dropped dramatically. You no longer need that shower the moment you get home from work. Your numbers are moving in the right direction. But there's this one thing…
You followed the plan. You pushed yourself. And at the end of the week, you still did the thing you were trying not to do. So it was a failure. Right? Not so fast. If your exposure therapy journey has taken an unexpected…
There are three handles in your kitchen you've stopped using normally. One is near the bin—people touch it right after throwing rubbish away. The other two are by the laundry area, where hands meet handles after touching…
You've done something most people never manage to do. You've mapped your OCD—counted every ritual, identified every trigger, catalogued the whole exhausting landscape. Twenty-one behaviors. Hand washing. Surface cleaning…
You touch a doorknob. Someone else touched it before you. And immediately, the thought arrives: What if I get seriously ill? So you wash your hands. Properly. With soap. And for a moment you feel okay. Then you start won…