My anxiety levels tend to surge when I have PMS, and being in perimenopause doesn’t help.
It’s an awful feeling when your brain won’t keep quiet, especially when you’re trying to sleep. Worst-case scenarios play out on repeat.
I’ve always been a writer. But fiction writing? That’s different. It gives you something most anxiety advice doesn’t: actual control.
You’re The Boss of Your Characters
Your real life might feel chaotic. Bills, deadlines, relationships: all spinning plates you can’t quite balance.
But in your story? You decide everything.
Does your character face rejection? You write how they bounce back. They’re scared of failure? You craft their comeback story.
You get to practice managing life’s difficulties.
Distance Creates Clarity
When you’re in an anxiety spiral, everything feels urgent and unsolvable.
But when your character faces the same situation? Suddenly you can see options. You can plot their way through because you’re not drowning in the emotion.
That character struggling with imposter syndrome? You’ll write them through it. And somewhere in that process, you’ll accidentally write yourself a roadmap.
Your Brain Gets Busy (In a Good Way)
Anxiety loves a vacant mind.
When you’re deep in character development—figuring out their backstory, their motivations, what they’d say in that crucial scene—there’s no mental space left for spiraling.
You’re building something meaningful while quieting the noise.
The Magic of What-If
Fiction is basically professional “what-if” thinking.
What if this character tried a different approach? What if they failed and tried again? What if they discovered they were stronger than they thought?
Every story you write expands your mental library of possibilities.
When real anxiety hits, you’ve already rehearsed a dozen ways to handle it through your characters.
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