Back-to-school season is often painted as exciting and fresh—but for many kids, teens, college students, and even parents, it also brings back-to-school anxiety.

Emotional regulation—the ability to recognize, understand, and manage emotions—is a critical skill for mental health and well-being.

Here’s why you should stop trying to control your anxiety—and what you can do instead to start living fully, even with anxiety by your side.

High-functioning anxiety is tricky. It hides behind a mask of productivity, accomplishment, and an outward appearance of control.

Anxiety. It’s a word we hear often, but how many of us truly understand what it means to live with it?