I had never suffered from anxiety as an adult. Ever since I began making my own money, I never felt stressed.
Surely, clicking buttons in poker that meant thousands of dollars in profits or losses might sound like a stressful situation for most. Or disconnecting from the internet with an open position during trading.
Indeed, these are stressful conditions. But they only last a few minutes.
And losing a few thousand here and there is quite normal for a professional gambler. As long as they are disciplined and follow a strict money management plan, they shouldn’t even care.
And that had been my only experience with stress. But I never worried about this stuff since I knew what I was doing (laughs). 😅
So, when my wife, Zoe, was telling me that she used to suffer from severe anxiety, I thought that’s what she meant. And come to think of it, how could she even feel that nervous if she hadn’t ever risked a single euro?
So, I honestly didn’t believe there was this mental health condition called “severe anxiety.”
Well, obviously, I was wrong.
There’s a first time for everything
The first time I encountered the condition was during one of my regular morning walks in March. As I was starting out, my iPhone’s Health app (what a GREAT app) notified me that I should take a mental health questionnaire.
Ha, I thought, that’s a first. Ever since I got my iPhone three years ago, it never prompted me anything about my mental health. And I have been using the Health app extensively as I track my workouts, sleep, and calories to lose weight.
But all that was about my physical health.
I was never worried about my mental health.
But as I was about to realize the big trouble my business was running into, I took the quiz. And the results were terrifying.
Alright! Houston, we’ve got a problem!
I knew something was up, but for the phone to understand this before me was unheard of. Say hello to AI!
Well, recognizing my mental health was in trouble is not rocket science I suppose. Obviously the quiz came up after my behavior pattern met some criteria, like sleeping less, walking faster, or not being able to sit down for long periods.
And I said hello to severe anxiety, which only got worse in the following weeks, as I faced the fear of losing everything because of Google updates. Because I was living in my comfort zone. Because I took everything for granted.
Oh, and it’s not Google’s fault, by the way.
Fighting anxiety is a byproduct
In May we went to our family’s summerhouse in Skyros. But even there things didn’t get better. Still, I managed to film a video to tell you the story. Or even better, show you.
3 months later, I’m feeling a bit better. Not because I managed to fix the problem or calm myself down. How could I with all the turmoil going on around the SEO industry?
I no longer feel so stressed for a reason that is so simple, that I wish I've done it years ago.
