The Reason Anxiety is a Good Thing (90 Second Read)
Daniel Crosby • October 16, 2023

If you’ve ever exercised, then you know there’s some pain involved. You’re going to be sore the next day. That’s how you know you’re getting better. That’s normal pain.


However, if you’ve ever injured yourself, you know that it’s a different kind of pain. I used to be a runner until I hurt my hip a few years ago. That pain persisted. It got worse the more I tried to ignore it.


Here’s a weird thought: I’m glad that my injured hip was painful.


God created our bodies with built-in alarm systems. The pain receptors in my hip sent a signal to my brain that screamed:


Warning!


Danger!



Stop!


Anxiety is part of your emotional alarm system and it is GOOD!


Your brain and your body are calibrated to recognize risks and when you encounter those risks your alarm system goes into action.


  • If there are rumors at work that the company is going to begin layoffs, your alarm system goes into action.


  • If you see one of your kids falling in with the wrong crowd, your alarm system goes into action.


If you don’t pay attention to your anxiety, then you won’t recognize potential problems in your life and make changes to address them.


***If you’re annoyed by the idea that ANXIETY IS GOOD then don’t give up on me. We’re going to keep talking about how anxiety can also be a HARMFUL thing.


HOMEWORK:

On your list of Literal or Perceived struggles, now write down WHY you think that struggle is causing your alarm system to go into action? WHY is it warning you of a risk?

 

For instance, with the work example above: “I’m anxious about the layoff rumor because my wife and I only have $300 in savings. If I stop getting paid then we can’t pay our bills!”


Every day I help hurting frazzled people by walking with them as they get back on the path toward becoming who God created them to be. Shoot me an email if there’s anything I can do to help you or someone you know.



Depression and Nutrition

Depression and Nutrition (Part 1)

By Daniel Crosby • September 22, 2025
Depression + Nutrition (PART 1) Today we’re talking about the obvious. If you eat crap you’re going to feel like crap. I’m not preaching at you. I do it to. No shame here. I would eat a family sized bag of chips everyday for lunch if I could. The way we feel is directly tied to what we eat though. It’s like fuel for the car. If you get some bad fuel it’s going to mess your engine up. So what are some of the things killing us? 1. Energy drinks - • Horrible for depression! They’re full of artificial chemicals and they cause you to spike and then crash. I have clients who are legitimately addicted to these just like someone is addicted to cocaine or heroin. 2. Marijuana - • It’s not really a food unless you’re using edibles, but I’m tired of people trying to convince me that marijuana is good for you. Marijuana might be one of the biggest contributors to your depression if you’re a regular user. • Warning: If you’re taking depression or anxiety medication while using marijuana, your brain is probably the most confused thing on the planet. 3. Ultraprocessed foods - • This is pretty much anything sold in a gas station or anything that has an expiration date of more than a week or two. If it hasn’t been cooked the day you ate it then it is probably not contributing positively to your brain chemistry. Homework: Download the Yuka App. It’s free, you can scan any barcode, and it will tell you how healthy a food is on a scale of 0-100. It will also make recommendations for healthier alternatives for low scoring foods. It’s a lot of fun to play around with in your pantry.
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Depression and Self Talk

By Daniel Crosby • September 15, 2025
Depression + Self-Talk Can you hear that little voice in your head? It’s the one when you’re at the grocery store and you were supposed to get 3 things and you can’t remember the 3rd thing. “Dang it, what was that last thing that I needed to get? It wasn’t milk because we have milk. Was it something in the produce section? Ugh, I can’t remember.” Psychologist Ethan Kross write a book about this called “Chatter.” Chatter is when normal factual self-talk changes to darker more accusatory and judgmental words. “You screw everything up. Can’t you ever do anything right?” “No one else struggles with this and here you are frozen and stuck in it doing the same stupid thing over and over again. You’re so pathetic.” Chatter is only going to fuel your depression. Here are 3 ways to quiet the chatter in your head: 1. Separate FACT from ASSUMPTION – • It can only officially be a FACT if someone else has literally said it to you. I heard a quote recently that said, “Imposter syndrome is the fear that other people are judging you as harshly as you are judging yourself.” They aren’t. 2. Identify Negative Beliefs and where they came from – • Negative Beliefs sound like “I” Statements. “I’m not good enough” or “I’m unworthy of love.” You might want to find a good counselor to help you work through these. 3. Journaling – • Write down a response to your own chatter as if you were responding to a friend who came to you asking your opinion about their inner voice. We’re usually kinder to others than we are to ourselves unfortunately. Homework: Take 60 seconds and think about which Negative Belief seems to pop up in your head most often to keep depression alive and well? We all have at least one. What’s yours?
Depression and Movement

Depression and Movement

By Daniel Crosby • September 8, 2025
Depression and Movement Alright, you knew it was coming. This is the 2nd most important way to beat depression. The 1st is Connection. You can’t beat this thing alone. The 2nd is Exercise or Movement. I say movement because when you’re struggling, you probably don’t feel like training for a marathon or joining a CrossFit gym. But when you don’t move at all, you don’t grow at all. Depression tells us to close the blinds and to lay in bed all day long in the dark accomplishing nothing. All that is going to do is stir up more Depression. Movement gives us a small goal to achieve and it get our muscles engaged and our blood and brain chemicals flowing again. You are just simply going to feel more alive. Here are 3 simple ways to start moving again: 1. Begin with gentle movement. • It doesn’t have to involve sweating • Try a yoga video on YouTube or just • Do 5 minutes of stretching 2. Set a reminder to do three 5-minute mood walks during the day • Walk around the building at work • Walk around the house on a rainy day • Notice your breath and the cadence of your arms and legs swinging back and forth 3. Make movement enjoyable • Walk to an enjoyable destination like the local bakery or to your favorite spot on the greenway to get a picture of a waterfall • Listen to your favorite music or podcast • Socialize while moving like the old ladies power walking at the mall Homework: Try doing some sort of new movement this week that’s out of the norm for you and let the rest of us know what you did and if it made you feel better.