The hidden costs of hyperhidrosis anxiety

We can only expend 100 percent of our energy at any given time. Social anxiety, hyperhidrosis' evil twin sibling, can take a big percentage of one's energy. For me, this percentage ranges from 0 to 70 percent, averaging 30 percent. A low level persistent anxiety. Which means that I have only 70 percent to give. I want to give 100 percent. Life is too short!

So how do you get from where I am to being able to give 100 percent of your energy to a cause greater than anxiety--using your talents and your love to make this world a better place or at least help someone feel listened to, loved, and appreciated? Medication? Therapy? Meditation? All of the above? I function pretty well as is, but it would be great to have that extra 30 percent at my disposal.

I Love My Sweaty Baby, No Matter What the Other Kids Say!

Our beautiful baby boy, four days old and just home from the hospital, slept peacefully in his bassinet. He woke up, ready to eat. I pick him up and, to my great chagrin, feel a wet spot on his back. The bassinet sheet is wet in the same place. Over the next week, the same wet spot appears several times a day. We know it's hot outside, but not that hot! And why would a baby have sweat glands only on his back? Have I passed on hyperhidrosis to my little one? Can't he have at least a few sweat-free years?

We visit the pediatrician a week later for a check-up. Nervously, I ask the pediatrician if our baby might have a sweating problem. We described the wet spot on his back. She laughed. I've heard that question many times, she said. And it happens only with baby boys. All you need to do is point his penis down when you change his diaper!

And thus ended our sweaty baby scare of 2008.