Corporate burnout fried me.
I had been cracked open to begin with, under a previously-diagnosed Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Literally sick of migraines – that an MRI proved wasn’t a brain tumor – major shoulder, neck, and head pain, debilitating muscle spasms, insomnia, constant fatigue and brain fog, and about $1k a month to keep all the symptoms at bay…I decided it’s time to do something unconventional. I quit my job in pursuit of a better life.
But even with all these symptoms, there’s one place I always felt serene – many places, actually. I traveled a dozen countries solo and not only did the break in routine help quell my anxious brain, but I noticed something fascinating about the locals. People in developing countries facing greater existential threat than me actually seemed happier than me.
As an MS grad with a certification in Multicultural Marketing, I needed to know what it is about other cultures that seemingly helps them have more emotional resilience. I wanted what they had. Little did I know, research would unveil a complex landscape of anxiety among different cultures – and some major misconceptions. Thus, Mapping Anxiety was born.