Saturday Summary: The How of Happiness, Website Changes, and Upcoming Articles

by Mike Nichols – Posted in: Commentary

It’s been a busy, busy week here at Anxiety Central!

I’ve posted big articles every day, each one of which took 3-4 hours to write.

And I’ve been working on the Social Anxiety Disorder (Social Phobia) reference article, and am almost finished (30 hours and counting). I hope to have it up by Monday.

Most of you know — or can find out quickly — that Anxiety, Panic & Health passed its one month anniversary yesterday, July 25th. I’m proud to say that the site has had over 1500 page views during that time. Some of the more popular articles have been read over 100 times! You can see a list of the most popular articles on the right sidebar. 

The How of Happiness

Gary Farrow has another article of note this week, Our Conversation with Author Sonja Lyubomirsky: On Happiness and Depression. She is the author of The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want. If you want to know more about the book, Adventures in Reading has a (long) article entitled “The How of Happiness: Chapter by Chapter.”

Website Changes

I’ve been thinking very hard about how this website looks. The appearance is governed by what is called a “theme.” Before starting this site, I must have looked at 200 themes, from garish to bland to bizarre. 

The theme that you see seemed to be the best, but I’ve never been completely satisfied with it. It’s a little dark, and seems to me to impart the wrong message. I want this site to offer hope and ways to live with health, wellness and wholeness, not a feeling of gloom!

I can tinker with the theme, or I can try to find a better one. Tinkering takes a lot of time, which I’d rather spend researching and writing quality articles.

I’ll be having a survey soon to let you help me decide what to do! 

If you have any thoughts, I’d appreciate your writing a comment.

Upcoming Articles

Articles I’m preparing now include:

  • The Brain Cells Related to Fear Identified
  • Shyness or Social Phobia?
  • Victimization and Self-Victimization
  • 8 Ways to Make Yourself a First-Class Worrier

I’m also getting an article about subscribing to this blog ready. Many of my readers may not know what RSS or subscribing is all about. The article will not be a regular post, but will be found under the subscribe buttons on the left hand sidebar.

Have a great weekend!

If you have enjoyed this article, please consider subscribing to this blog, either via RSS or email at the right top of the screen. I would also appreciate it if you shared this article with your favorite social media, such as StumbleUpon or Digg. Just click the little green “ShareThis” button at the bottom of this post.

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3 comments… add one
Mary Jamison July 28, 2008, 9:20 am

Hi Mike – I haven’t browsed through everything, but what I have seen makes me think this is a great resource.
Some thoughts on revamping – I’d like to see more “about you” on the home page. IMHO, it’s a way to tell that this is a personal page, not one by either a medical expert or somebody who’s going to try to sell me supplements.
And, if you’ll please forgive an editorial reaction: In your “about me” page, it might be more inviting to readers–who, especially if they’re newbies to living with an anxiety disorder–are going to be terrified to read your story. You might want to consider beginning the piece with what’s now it’s ending; it makes reading the story a lot less scary if you know it ends happily.
I share your belief that a person can live a good life with this disorder; hell, it’s not a belief, it’s a fact, because I have. Have I missed out on things? Sure. But everybody does. Life is still a wonder and a gift, although, in the midst of suffering, saying “life is a gift” is an act of faith and hope. This is not unique to people suffering from this particular disorder!

Mike July 28, 2008, 12:28 pm

Hi, Mary

Thank you for your comment! I try to make this blog as authoritative and informative as I can. Every article has verified sources, except for my rants ;)

I’m of two minds about putting personal information on the home page. As you say, it would let readers know that this is a personal blog, not an official medical one or sales hype. On the other hand, I’m not doing this to put myself forward, but to provide reliable, helpful information.

No need for forgiveness about your editorial reaction. I will soon be revising my “About” and other pages. I hadn’t regarded it as terrifying, but I can see your point. Maybe all the scary stuff ought to be on the “My Story” page. I’ll definitely keep it in mind during the revision.

And I do feel better than I have in well over a decade. There is hope for recovery and a full, rewarding life. In a way, I am thankful for my experiences with my mental disorders. I definitely feel stronger for it, and they have led me to the beginnings of this, what I hope to be a new career.

Mike

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