(Anything) With(out) Anxiety

This is a book series—and a channel and a webshop—for anyone who’s ready to stop letting anxiety make their decisions for them.

According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA), there are 40 million people who have an anxiety disorder in the U.S. alone. That means many aspects of their lives may be heavily influenced—often unconsciously—by fear, avoidance, and overwhelm. These are 40 million people whose everyday decisions may be shaped more by imagined worst-case scenarios than actual desires or needs. That’s more than 10 percent of the entire U.S. population. And this is just the official number. The real figures always tend to be higher.

Most people don’t openly talk about their struggles and often suffer in silence, mostly because they’re afraid of being judged or misunderstood. They worry that others will see them as weak or incapable. Many don’t even realize that what they’re experiencing is anxiety because it has been part of their lives for so long that it feels “normal.”

Anxiety may shape what we say yes to, what we try to avoid, how much we prepare, and how often we second-guess ourselves. But you can fear that something might happen and still choose not to let that fear tell you what to do. That’s why we need tools and practices that help us move forward, even when anxiety tags along. Not just to cope with it, but to loosen its grip on our everyday lives.

When anxiety is not in command, you can make space for clarity and choice. You can hear your own voice above the noise. You can act according to your values. Living with anxiety is one thing; letting it lead your life is another.

That’s why I’m launc hing Anything With(out) Anxiety—a bold new book series that will help you take back your confidence and independence.

This Kickstarter is for Book One: Traveling With(out) Anxiety, the first title in the series and the start of an entire platform dedicated to helping you stress less, calm your chaos, and live free, whether you’re flying across the world or just getting out the door.

My Journey to the Books

I’ve had several severe bouts of anxiety in my life: one when I was very young, another in my late twenties and early thirties, and yet another in my late forties. You can name dozens of anxiety symptoms—I’ve probably had all of them. At times, my panic attacks were devastating. I was exhausted, frozen, and disconnected from who I really was.

I tried medications and supplements, therapies, breathing techniques, meditation, diets, and just about everything else I could find. Some things helped at certain points. Other times, I had to try something entirely different. What worked once might feel impossible the next. And what seemed useless at first would occasionally become exactly what I needed months later.

Eventually, I realized I was looking for solutions and support that could adapt with me. I needed strategies that respected my nervous system, acknowledged my limits, and didn’t require me to be completely calm or confident before I could begin functioning again. I needed a variety of tools that could balance me when I was shaky or overwhelmed.

What I needed most were small, doable things, something that could help me stay grounded in reality, connected to my body. Not to escape anxiety immediately, because temporary relief rarely solves the underlying problem and unresolved issues always return, but to constantly move through the world on my own terms.

I began to understand just how vastly different life situations can shape our experience of anxiety and how context and timing matter. So I started learning everything I could, not just through my own experiences, which were plenty, but also through reading, researching, listening, and observing.

I paid attention to patterns in myself and others. I was eager to know how to live with our fears, understand them, soften their grip, and potentially fix it once and for all. This series of books is a result of that. It’s a collection of everything I wish someone had handed me during my hardest moments: honest insights, practical tools, and strangely effective strategies that don’t require you to be at your best to handle any situation.

What’s Traveling With(out) Anxiety about?

If you’ve ever overpacked for a simple outing, triple-checked your itinerary, rehearsed a doomsday scenario a dozen times in your head, or canceled plans again because it just felt like too much, you’re not alone. And this book is for you.

It’s not your typical travel guide. It’s a book for those times when you need to travel but would rather crawl under a blanket and stay there. Whether it’s fear of flying, public transit, elevators, restrooms, being far from home, fear of becoming sick from unfamiliar food, or just not knowing what to expect, this book helps you unpack those fears, flip them around, and actually look forward to going somewhere.

It’s pragmatic and honest, but also full of humor and weirdly effective strategies that work, even when your nervous system doesn’t. You’ll learn small, doable practical hacks that help interrupt anxiety before it takes over.

I didn’t choose to write Traveling With(out) Anxiety as the first book in the series just because I’ve always loved travel. I wrote it because I almost gave up on it, on something I see as one of the most powerful ways we stay connected to the world.

Travel isn’t just about visiting new places. It’s about staying curious, expanding our perspectives, meeting new people, and feeling connected to humanity in a broader, deeper way. It brings a sense of freedom to those of us who feel stuck. It helps us see ourselves with new eyes. It reminds us that we’re part of something larger than our routines and our worries, and we can survive and even thrive beyond the borders of our comfort zones.

So when anxiety turns something meaningful into something terrifying, it becomes more than just an inconvenience. You start avoiding it, and before long, it turns into a quiet form of unwanted self-isolation. And that’s what nearly happened to me. This book is about knowledge and experiences that paved my way back, and maybe it can do the same for you. It’s not an ultimate how-to guide, but a very human collection of tools, stories, and strategies for staying connected to the world even when anxiety wants to shut it out.

Here is one of the strategies you can find in the book

You can wiggle your toes during takeoff, first slowly, then faster as the plane picks up speed and climbs into the sky. This approach was suggested by Captain Truman Cummings, the pilot who launched the first fear-of-flying courses at Pan Am back in 1975. You can even tense and relax other parts of your body repeatedly to help your body burn stress hormones and ground yourself in reality. The same trick works during turbulence as well.

Book specs

The book is approximately 110,000 words (roughly 350+ pages) and includes around 40 chapters covering different aspects of anxiety and travel.

It’s been independently fact-checked and includes more than 220 reference links, but it’s far from a scientific paper or a clinical textbook.

Authentic and uncensored, even controversial at times.

Focused on ordinary travelers and real-world situations, not luxury travel or unrealistic self-help promises.

Paperback + ebook editions planned.

Future audiobook version under consideration.

The Series

Traveling With(out) Anxiety is the first book in this series. It’s about learning how to travel with less fear and stress, but it’s also about learning how to live when you still feel anxious instead of holding on to the idea that anxiety needs to disappear completely before you can move forward with your life.

For many of us, waiting to be “anxiety-free” is just another way of staying stuck. We put off travel, love, creativity while waiting for some perfect version of ourselves to show up. But the truth is, life doesn’t begin after anxiety ends. It begins the moment we decide to feel alive again.

These books are about handling it in a way that actually suits you, not just what’s commonly expected or prescribed. It’s for people who want more than “just take a pill and push through,” for those of us who’ve tried that, and still found ourselves trapped, overwhelmed, and quietly falling apart.

Anxiety can show up in dozens of different ways, but it’s almost always connected to some area of your life: your work, your relationships, your health, your finances, and many others.

That’s why one-size-fits-all solutions rarely work. Anxiety isn’t just in your head. It’s in your habits, routines, and decisions—the way you move through the world. To truly manage it, you need tools that meet you where it actually shows up.

The With(out) Anxiety series is built around that idea. Upcoming titles in the series will tackle real-life situations like:

• Sleeping With(out) Anxiety
• Driving With(out) Anxiety
• Working With(out) Anxiety
• …and much more.

Each book will focus on a part of life that anxiety often makes more difficult. The goal is to keep the books simple, helpful, and easy to relate to. They will explore real-life situations in an honest and supportive way, offering ideas, tools, and strategies that people can actually use.

There are no magic fixes, but there are practical solutions, and we’re not powerless.

Why I’m Self-Publishing and Why Kickstarter

I chose to self-publish Traveling With(out) Anxiety (and future books in the series) because it gives me the freedom to share the content the way it feels right and free from external constraints. It allows me to say what I want to say, not just what’s marketable or fits neatly into the usual narratives about healing or self-help. When you’re writing about anxiety, there’s no room for generic advice or for pretending that everything can be immediately fixed. You have to tell the truth, even when it’s uncomfortable. And you shouldn’t have to wait a year or two for editorial approval and publication just to fit someone else’s schedule.

By self-publishing, I can:

• Respond to what readers actually need, as it comes up.
• Create books that are easy to read and understand.
• Retain creative control, so I don’t have to water anything down to meet publishing trends or approval committees.
• Build a series that tackles the most common but important aspects of human life, such as work, sleep, relationships, money, and more—without waiting for a publishing deal.

I’m not doing this for prestige or shelf space. I’m doing it for the people who are hiding in the bathroom, canceling plans, over-researching symptoms, or lying awake at 3 a.m., wondering what’s wrong with them.

Nothing is wrong with you.

And you deserve guidance that’s honest, doable, and speaks to you from one human experience to another.

With your support, I’ll be able to:

• Launch the first book in the With(out) Anxiety series
• Kick off the rest of the book series
• Improve and develop the website
• And later, create the community

More importantly, it helps me stay independent. No outside publisher. No algorithms. Just a real connection between me and the people this project is for: you.
When you back this project, you’re not just pre-ordering a book. You’re helping kickstart a platform that meets anxious minds where they are.

More Than Just Books. It’s a Whole Anti-Anxiety Ecosystem

This Kickstarter doesn’t just fund the first book. It helps build the entire With(out) Anxiety platform.

That includes:

• A full book series tackling anxiety in everyday situations (starting with traveling)
• A web shop of anti-stress tools: physical and digital items that support a calmer life.
• A YouTube channel focused on living well with(out) anxiety, featuring talks and discussions about managing fear in everyday situations: from navigating social events and staying calm in public to handling “normal” things that suddenly stop feeling normal when you’re on edge.
• A network of clubs promoting healing and entertaining activities that will help you to reinvent yourself.

The YouTube Channel

Life doesn’t come with a therapist in your pocket.

This Kickstarter is also helping launch the With(out) Anxiety YouTube channel: a space where we can talk openly and creatively about what it means to live, work, rest, and explore with anxiety in the background.

This channel is for anyone who’s ever thought:

• Why am I spiraling over something so small?
• Everyone else seems to be handling this. What’s wrong with me?
• I wish I had actual tools, not vague advice

The channel is planned to feature:

• Short, practical videos on managing everyday anxiety triggers
• Psychology-backed techniques explained simply (no jargon, no BS)
• Real-life walkthroughs: travel, social life, work, sleep, dating, and more
• Personal stories, insights into common anxiety loops, and practical strategies that can help
• Reviews of tools, books, other channels, news, and trends related to stress and anxiety

Whether it’s learning how to stay calm in a changing or triggering environment or understanding what we can take away from current events, this channel aims to share as much helpful knowledge and perspective as possible. In many cases, fear grows from uncertainty and a lack of understanding.

The Webshop

Alongside the books, I’m creating a webshop built specifically for those looking for practical anti-anxiety tools that make a difference.

• Journals & workbooks that help you untangle your thoughts
• Sleep aids for anxious brains
• Grounding objects and tools for on-the-go calm
• Digital downloads, guides, and anti-anxiety checklists
• and more

It’s intended to provide more choices for people who want to manage stress without giving up their personality or lifestyle. Backers will get early access and receive exclusive discounts based on their pledge level.

What Do You Get?

I’ve created a range of reward tiers so you can support the project in whatever way feels right for you—from the ebook to lifetime discounts in the webshop and future releases in the (Anything) With(out) Anxiety series.

Every pledge helps bring not only this book but an entire project to life: future books, practical resources, and honest conversations about anxiety rooted in real-life experience rather than generic self-help formulas.

Supporters will receive early access, exclusive updates, behind-the-scenes content, and the chance to directly help shape a long-term project focused on making anxiety-related information more accessible, relatable, and genuinely useful.

This campaign is about more than publishing a single book. It’s about building something thoughtful, practical, and human—something that I hope helps people feel a little less isolated in what they’re going through.

Risks and challenges

As with any other creative project, there are risks—especially with printing, shipping delays, and production timelines.

The content for Traveling With(out) Anxiety is already written and in its final revisions, so fulfillment will begin right after the campaign wraps.

Several more books are almost written or half-written, and another is already in the proofreading stage.

The webshop may evolve over time, but backers will always receive what they’re promised, including early access and exclusive discounts.

As a solo creator, my biggest challenge is scaling, but I’m committed to transparency. Backers will get regular updates and early previews as things develop.