Mental health treatment is failing millions of people because it’s based on the idea that anxiety is one thing. It’s not.

Traditional approaches only help about half of people because the other half are dealing with something else entirely—different types of anxiety that aren’t rooted in chemical imbalances or distorted thinking. They're rooted in life. In reality. In the pressure you’re under and the situations you’re facing.

Some anxiety is actually a completely appropriate response to your circumstances. It’s your brain saying, “Something here is off.” And until we stop pathologizing every anxious feeling and start understanding where it’s really coming from, we’re going to keep missing the mark.

These seven types of anxiety often go untreated not because help isn’t available—but because we’re not looking in the right places. Let’s change that.

1. Deception Anxiety

If you’re hiding something major from people you care about—an addiction, financial trouble, an affair, anything you’re ashamed of—your anxiety isn’t irrational. It’s a response to walking through life with a secret that could unravel everything if it slips out.

That stress won’t lift until the hiding stops. Start with one person you trust—a therapist, a support group, someone outside the immediate fallout. You don’t need to fix it all at once, but you do need to stop carrying it alone.

2. Digital Addiction Anxiety

If your screen time feels like a need, not a want, you’re probably dealing with digital addiction anxiety. It happens when the stuff that’s supposed to be entertainment becomes essential. That turns daily life into a juggling act you weren’t meant to handle.

You’re not lazy or unmotivated. You’re overwhelmed because you added an extra “need” to an already full plate. Scaling back your digital consumption isn’t punishment—it’s relief.

3. Caffeine-Induced Anxiety

Caffeine messes with your nervous system. Period. If you’re already anxious and you’re regularly taking in 400mg+ a day, that’s like throwing gas on a fire.

You don’t have to quit entirely. Even cutting back a bit can help. Replacing one energy drink or pre-workout with something lighter can lower your baseline anxiety more than any supplement or talk session ever will.

4. Self-Abuse Anxiety

That voice in your head—the one that calls you lazy, stupid, worthless—if it were a person, you’d call them abusive. But because it’s your voice, you believe it. You carry it.

This anxiety isn’t about your environment. It’s about your inner world. And until you start challenging that voice and treating yourself like someone worth being kind to, that anxiety stays put. Therapy can help, but only if you speak it aloud.

5. Discomfort Anxiety

Avoiding everything that makes you uncomfortable might seem smart, especially when you’re already overwhelmed. But it shrinks your world. It makes the outside feel scarier and your life feel smaller.

You don’t overcome discomfort anxiety by thinking about new things—you overcome it by doing new things. Slowly. With support. One step at a time.

6. Exhaustion Anxiety

If you’re sleeping five hours a night and wondering why your emotions are out of control, this is why. Your prefrontal cortex—the part of your brain that helps regulate emotions, make decisions, and manage social situations—shuts down with sleep loss.

You don’t need another strategy. You need rest. And if you’re struggling to get it, reducing caffeine and screen time can help unlock better sleep, which will change everything else.

7. Death Anxiety

This one is heavy. Knowing that you—and everyone you love—will die someday is hard to sit with. But it’s not a disorder to struggle with that. It’s human.

What helps is building a framework that gives life and death meaning to you. Whether it’s spiritual, philosophical, or existential—without some way to hold this truth, death anxiety just keeps spinning. You don’t have to figure it all out today. But don’t ignore it.

This video will help you identify your true anxiety triggers and find solutions that therapy alone can't provide.

-Scott

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