What is anxiety??
Anxiety is a psychological, physiological state induced by a threat to our wellbeing, safety or survival. Whether that’s either the potential or actual.
Anxiety is both a mental and physical state of negative expectation. Mentally it is characterized by increased arousal and apprehension which leads into distressing worry, and physically by unpleasant activation of multiple body systems—all to facilitate response to an unknown danger, whether real or imagined.
The cognitive feelings of dread in anticipation of some bad outcome, and physical sensations such as jitteriness and a racing heart are designed for discomfort. Anxiety is meant to capture your attention and stimulate you to make necessary changes to protect what you care about. Occasional bouts of anxiety are natural and can even be productive. Anxiety can be considered the price we pay for having the ability to imagine the future.
When anxiety becomes persistent and consistent in one’s life this then can be considered a disorder. This can be managed through therapy and medication. However my own perspective on this is medication can be very helpful often considered after talking therapies. In therapy can help someone develop strategies and techniques to manage their anxiety in a productive way without the need for medication.
Signs and symptoms:
Feeling tense, nervous or unable to relax
Being easily fatigued
Sleep disturbance
Difficulty in concentrating
Feeling disconnected from what is going on, as if things are surreal
Feeling hot/cold/tingling sensations
Difficulty in controlling feelings of worry
Having headaches, muscle aches, stomach ache or other unexplained pains
What anxiety can do to your body is cause your heart to beat rapid, palpitations, chest pain, sweaty palms and increased blood pressure. All of these can feel very frightening in the moment.
How to manage your anxiety:
- Question the story you tell yourself, the one that plays in your head on a loop. Look for the evidence that supports what you are thinking??? Quite often there is no evidence, our thoughts are based on a fantasy created through fear.
- Face your fears. Anxiety drives us to avoid situations that we fear, and that avoidance only compounds those feelings and increases the fear and dread.
When we stop avoiding, we allow our minds to develop something new. What you may learn is that situations are not always bad, therefore allowing a more balanced thought process around perceived anxiety provoking situations.
- The here and now: Staying present and in the moment can be really useful in preventing us from catastrophising, as anxiety remember is based on the imagined fear. Embracing the unknown allows us be free, (in the moment) therefore anxiety is not present at these times
Generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) caused by a number of factors for example having a history of stressful or traumatic experiences, long term health conditions, a history of drug and alcohol abuse. That said many people develop GAD for no apparent reason.
It is reported however that more women are affected than men, and more prevalent between the ages of 35-55.
With treatment most people are able to manage their symptoms on a day to day basis, for more severe cases medication maybe required as well as talking therapies. Enabling ourselves to focus on the present moment, called mindfulness can support people struggling with anxiety. Techniques that can help us regulate our nervous system which in it’s broadest form is what anxiety is. There are any many simple exercises that we can do at home, other than breathing exercises which some times clients find difficult when in a highly agitated state. 24 Best Self-Soothing Techniques and Strategies for Adults (positivepsychology.com).
If you’d like to find out more about how self-regulation exercises work there is a series of YouTube videos about Poly Vagal theory by Stephen Porges. This is also a useful site that has exercises on how to help our nervous system regulate more effectively https://www.rhythmofregulation.com/resources.
In summary anxiety can present itself to anyone and occur when we least expect it. The important thing is to remember you can take control of your anxiety and manage it in a more productive way.
Anxiety UK is a national charity helping people with anxiety and has helpful information online www.anxietyuk.org.uk.
Andrea Whittaker-Ward
BACP Accredited Counsellor, Clinical Supervisor and Trainer
Further information: