Stress and Anxiety
Are you struggling with anxiety? you are not alone, anxiety affects as much as 5% of the UK population, although experiencing anxiety is different for everyone, there are some common symptoms many people show such as feelings of restlessness, headaches, constant worry, muscle tension, irregularities in the heartbeat, difficulty sleeping and feeling unease in social situations.
What do we worry about?
You might be experiencing financial worries such as increased or long-term debt, having a low income or difficulties in making ends meet, you might be worrying about having difficult relationships, loss of a loved one, or lack of meaningful relationships.
Do you often find yourself worrying about developing a long-term illness or not being healthy enough? You might be worrying about a difficult boss or losing your job or simply not having a clear idea of what to do next.
What causes anxiety?
There is not one cause for anxiety disorders and several factors can play a role like genetics, the brain biochemistry, having an overactive response to stress, personality such as low self-esteem or poor coping skills, side effects to some medications or life experiences.
Life experiences that might trigger anxiety could be growing up with a parent who worried excessively, growing up in a very unstable household, being told you could not cope, being given too much or too little responsibility, being left alone to cope, losing a parent, being bullied, having an abusive, aggressive, drunk or violent parent or carer.
What happens to you when you are feeling anxious?
Fear and worry are natural responses to danger. These responses are hard-wired and linked to the parts of the brain that developed early, this area of the brain is called the reptilian brain or limbic system, The Amygdala.
The Amygdala is a major processing centre for emotions, recognise threats, and prepares the body to react accordingly. Once the Amygdala sounds the alarm, your entire body physically, mentally and emotionally is prepared to face the identified danger and the three most common responses are:
The Flight Response: the first reaction will be to run away from this danger/threat, your mind will be scanning for further dangers in the surroundings, your body will start increasing your heartbeat, your increased heartrate will make your blood circulate faster around your body, your muscles will tense, you will hyperventilate and start breathing too fast, and you will get ready to physically run on the opposite direction.
You will become generally more irritable to anything that distracts your brain from the identified danger, you will not be able to take your thoughts away from it, you will be hyper alerted and become agitated and jumpy.
The Fight Response: the first reaction will be to stay and fight this danger/threat, your mind is set to stay and face the danger, there is no other possibility but to fight, your heartbeat will increase, your blood circulation will flow faster, your breathing will be very fast, your muscles will be incredibly tense, the adrenaline is at an all-time high, it feels like a life or death situation, you feel you have to end this right here. You will experience very intense feelings, you will be generally more irritable, you will not be able to take your thoughts away from it, you will be hyper alerted and become agitated and jumpy.
The Freeze Response: the first reaction is to take ourselves out of the situation, however, this might not be physically possible, you will not be able to run or fight to address this danger/threat. The danger is too overwhelming, and it cannot be overcome you have to wait it, and you set your mind to numb the situation. This is a total shutdown, you will feel physically paralysed, your mind might go blank, and your emotions will be cancelled, your only option is to wait until the danger passes hoping it will not affect you. Your heartbeat will increase, your muscles will tense, your breathing will be faster, but you will keep still, this is a powerless situation, and you might feel spaced out or even dissociating from the situation, this is a terrifying and powerless situation, it is unbearable.
But what is anxiety?
Anxiety is a natural response, it is the basis of survival because it prepares our bodies to cope with danger, in moderate amounts it helps improving our performance. Anxiety it is commonly defined as a feeling of worry, nervousness or unease about something that has an uncertain outcome, and it can be mild or severe. Anxiety and fear are both interrelated. The main distinction is, fear is a response to known, understood threat. Whereas anxiety is a response to an unknown or poorly understood threat.
The difference between worrying and anxious worry is that the worrying involved in anxiety is excessive, intrusive, persistent and disruptive. This excessive worrying leads to feelings of restlessness, being on edge, feeling frequently fatigued, difficulty in concentrating, irritability, muscle tension and sleep disturbance.
When anxiety becomes problematic it causes significant distress and it makes more difficult for you to enjoy leisure time without worrying, you might start feeling weary of trying new things for the fear of failing or not being good at it, might experience panic attacks due to overthinking, fear and stress, might start grinding your teeth, avoiding going to events or meeting people, having difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, spending too much time worrying about things you cannot control or the future.
For many people, it feels like they are constantly on high alert and unable to relax, like your fight or flight response is always turned on. A persistent feeling of panic and dread becomes exhausting after a while and takes a considerable toll on your body, which is why learning to manage and cope with anxiety is very important.
Types of anxiety and what to do next
There are many different types of anxiety, including:
- Generalised Anxiety Disorder
- Panic Disorder
- Social Anxiety Disorder
- Phobias
- Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Things that can help you manage your anxiety.
Therapy can help you discuss how your thoughts influence your actions; this will help you gain an increased awareness of yourself that can be very valuable in moments of panic.
Therapy will help you identifying what triggers your anxiety for you, the increased awareness may help you dealing with it more effectively when you feel anxious.
Therapy will help you identifying what triggers your anxiety for you, the increased awareness may help you dealing with it more effectively when you feel anxious.
Therapy will help you developing an understanding of what causes anxiety for you and learning strategies and techniques to cope with anxiety healthily.
Keeping a diary to monitor how anxious you feel on a daily basis will help you understand what triggers your anxiety, making a note of things that make you anxious can make them feel less overwhelming when they are on a piece of paper.
Getting enough sleep can provide you with the energy that you will need to deal better with difficult situations. Exercising regularly, even if this is just going for long walks two or three times a week it will help you slowing your mind down and feeling more at ease.