The term anxiety is broad, it serves as an umbrella term for
several types and obsessive disorders.
However, generally it can be described as the tense anticipation of a threatening but vague event; a feeling of uneasy suspense. It is a result of behaviour, related to fear.
Everyone experiences anxiety to some degree. Anxiety should not be seen as good or bad, but instead as a physiological, psychological and emotional outcome of a certain behaviour.
Anxiety triggers our fight or flight response, a mechanism developed from our internal system, as a result of the daily danger we used to experience thousands of years ago. At the time, this instinctual response was possibly lifesaving, however, nowadays we don’t face life-threatening daily danger. Even so, we still have this mechanism engrained in us, some of us are just more sensitive to triggering it than others.
Anxiety is a reaction to painful stimuli or associations, however it can stimulate that behaviour. Expressly, the importance is at the motivation of the fear and not its causes. A connection between fleeing an emotionally painful situation and the continuous increase in avoidance behaviour was formed. Factors such as motivation, the expected level of painfulness, opportunity of safety were a determinating factor in the avoidance behaviour.
Anxiety is an intricate phenomenon that affects vigilance, concentration, perception, reasoning and memory.Additionally, these processes take place at a non-consciouslevel. This complicates the situation since by not being aware it is difficult to detect and understand patterns and triggers, and subsequently break them. This highlights the importance of therapy because with the help of a professional understanding and working through these variants becomes more manageable.
There are several symptoms that interchange from disorder to disorder, to which it can be both physical and emotional effects.
Some of the physical symptoms can be heart palpitations, muscular weakness and tension, fatigue, nausea, chest pain, shortness of breath, stomach aches or headaches
Trembling, pupil dilatation, pale or fleshed skin are common effects as well. The emotional ones are composed by the feelings of apprehension or dread, trouble concentrating, feeling tense or jumpy, anticipating the worst, irritability, restlessness, watching (and waiting) for signs (and occurrences) of danger, and feeling like your mind’s gone blank as well as nightmares and feeling trapped in your own mind.
Generalized anxiety disorder
It is the most common anxiety disorder present in adults. It is a common chronic disorder characterized by long-lasting anxiety that is not focused on any one object or situation”. People suffering from this condition experience continuous fear and worry, centred on daily situations.
Panic Disorder
It is the suffering from intense terror attacks, usually accompanied by shaking, confusion, dizziness, nausea and difficulty breathing. It is a sudden discomfort and fear that can last several hours from the starting point until
the peak usually taking less than ten minutes.
It can be triggered by several things however, the underlying cause usually isn’t evident.
Phobias
Phobias are defined by
all cases derived from fear and anxiety triggered by a specific
object or situation.
For example, agoraphobia is a type of phobia. It is characterized by the anxiety surrounding being in a specific place or situation where it’s difficult to escape, embarrassing or external help is not available.
Social Anxiety
Disorder
It is characterized by
the intense fear and avoidance of negative public scrutiny, public embarrassment, humiliation, or social interaction. This
can apply to certain situations or most/all social interactions. Common symptoms are blushing, sweating and difficulty speaking.
Individuals experiencing this also tend to avoid triggering situations.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder
It is primarily defined by repetitive obsessions
(distressing, persistent, and intrusive thoughts or images) and
compulsions (urges to perform specific acts or rituals).” This
disorder creates thought patterns that can be linked with
superstitious beliefs since it involves a belief in an effect-cause
situation that doesn’t exist otherwise
Post-traumatic stress disorder
It is the result from a traumatic experience, which can be from
several things occurring in an extreme situation such as war, sexual assault, child abuse or a serious accident. Common symptoms are hypervigilance, flashbacks, avoidant behavioural
traits, anger and depression.
Therapy such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) or Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) are helpful long term ways to manage anxiety with the help of a professional. The therapy selected will be according to the anxiety disorder.
Therapy
Caffeine is a stimulant to the brain and heart since it raises blood pressure, adrenaline and cortisol levels (stress hormones). For this reason, it can intensify or trigger our body’s stress response (fight-or-flight).
Caffeine
The release of endorphins and spend of adrenaline through exercise has been proven to help lower anxiety levels, even if done for a short amount of time.
Spending time outdoors, especially in nature has also been proven to help reduce anxiety.
Exercise
Shifting attention to something else by acknowledging your surroundings and grounding yourself is a good way to reduce anxiety. This can be done by paying attention to visual and auditive cues, such as the sound of wind (auditive cue) and leaves blowing (visual cue).
Journaling is a good way to explore, reflect and release feelings. Writing down positive affirmations can be a good way to rewire the brain to have a more positive outlook on situations.
Attention Shifting
Meditation and yoga are good relaxation activities to reduce the symptoms and “reset” your nervous to its calmer, neutral state.
It is also a good form of training breathing techniques.
However, it can be difficult to focus and concentrate as a beginner, to which guided meditations and yoga classes (in person or online) can be a good alternative.
Meditation
A few examples of techniques are the 4-7-8 technique and the quieting response.
The 4-7-8 technique consists in breathing through the nose for four seconds, hold your breath for seven seconds and exhale through the mouth for eight seconds.
The quieting response consists of firstly, relaxing all the muscles in the face and shoulders and picture having holes in the bottom of the feet.
Taking deep breaths while imagining hot air entering through those holes, travelling through legs until the lungs. While picturing each muscle relaxing when the air passes through.
Then, breathing out slowly imagining the air travelling the opposite direction.
Breathing Techniques
