All About Anxiety

We have all felt anxious at one time or another. Anxiety is a natural and normal feeling, like feeling happy or excited. Anxiety is actually good. The human species would not have survived without anxiety, it keeps us alert and aware. Our ancestors needed to be vigilant in order to avoid harm and stay alive.

Here is a scenario where anxiety is useful. Imagine you are driving, and a small child runs into the road. You hit the brakes and the car stops in time. In that reaction you may experience; fastened breathe and heart rate, dilated pupils, trembling and sweating. These physical reactions are a result of anxiety. Anxiety is beneficial in the face of real threat.

However, there is a line between anxiety being healthy vs unhealthy. Anxiety disorder is defined as anxiety and excessive worry regarding several events or activities most days during at least a 6-month period. Anxiety is really common, 3.6% of people worldwide experience this disorder. There is no sole cause for anxiety disorder. There are genetic components such as hormonal imbalances which are hereditary. Changes in hormonal behaviour can onset anxiety, such as the menopause (anxiety is more common in women). There are also environmental factors, learning to be fearful of certain things, avoidance makes people feel better in the short term.

However, anxiety is not ‘fixed’, the disorder is treatable.

A common fear is the fear of public speaking. There are no real threats, only perceived negative consequences that make people feel scared. Let us take this example and explore how famous psychologist, Albert Ellis, would explain it. There are three parts to the explanation.

A) the adverse event i.e. public speaking

B) beliefs about the event i.e. I will do a bad job, people will judge me

C) Consequence i.e. dislike public speaking, avoid it at all costs.

Yet, you have the control over point B) beliefs. If we change our beliefs regarding point A), the consequence will be different. If we simply continue to avoid the situation, we cannot learn that it really is not a threat.

Individuals with anxiety disorder have distorted beliefs. They tend to see things more negatively rather than rationally. The key to treating anxiety is to rationalize our beliefs about the situation. A health professional can assist in this. For example; someone with anxiety disorder may think “I have failed an exam, therefore I am a failure”, a rational person would think “Unfortunately I failed that exam, but I am not a failure, one exam does not define me.”. Individuals with anxiety will go to worse case scenario rather than seeing things for what they are at the time. Whilst anxiety disorder can be distressing and unpleasant, it is treatable. Usually the best results come from both medications to stabilize the physical reactions we get when we feel anxious (reduce the fastened heart rate), and therapy to change irrational thoughts.

Additionally, panic disorders are another type of anxiety. Periods of ‘out of the blue’ intense sweating, shaking, shortness of breath, feelings of choking, chest pains and a fear of dying. People who have panic disorder often confuse the experience with dying, you cannot die from anxiety. It can be distressing for the individual which is why it is important to seek professional guidance and work through the things that are triggering the panic.

Whilst anxiety is not particularly pleasant and can leave the individual feeling overwhelmed, it is very treatable with the right support. Feel hopeful and encouraged if anxiety is something you or someone you know struggle with. It is very common, and many people recover from the disorder. Reach out to a health care professional for guidance and make the first set to recovery.

#anxiety #mentalhealth