ANXIETY
By Licia Ginne, LMFT
All our emotions and feelings have a purpose that serves us
in a positive way. Anxiety’s origins are fear and excitement,
the feelings of fear warn us that there is danger ahead and
we should act cautiously. The excitement comes with the anticipation
with something new or unfamiliar. When we encounter danger
our feelings alert us, and we respond by preparing our bodies
to either stand and fight or prepare to flee (fight
or flight syndrome).
Anxiety develops when we live in a constant state of heightened
stress, fear or conflict. It is as if the fear and excitement
button gets stuck and we become flooded with feeling. We are
constantly in a state of defensiveness, defending ourselves
from actual physical harm or threat, or a perceived harm or
threat. When we grow up in abusive families we adapt by living
in this heightened state of stress that feels so normal we
are not even aware of it. When we live under constant stress
our bodies pay the price, we can develop different chronic
conditions, chronic anxiety, depression or other illnesses
take their toll.
I sometimes think of anxiety or panic attacks as our body’s
way of trying to get our attention but we keep ignoring the
message until our body takes drastic action. Experiencing anxiety
or panic attacks will certainly command one’s attention.
Symptoms of Anxiety
• Unrealistic or excessive worry
• Unrealistic fears concerning objects or situations
• Exaggerated startle reactions
• "Flashbacks" of past trauma
• Sleep disturbances
• Ritualistic behaviors as a way of with dealing with anxieties
• Shakiness
• Trembling
• Muscle aches
• Sweating
• Cold/clammy hands
• Dizziness
• Jitteriness
• Tension
• Fatigue
• Racing or pounding heart
• Dry mouth
• Numbness/tingling of hands, feet or other body part
• Upset stomach
• Diarrhea
• Lump in throat
• High pulse and/or breathing rate
• Impatient, irritable and easily distracted
• Dread, certain something bad will happen, if not now later.
The treatment of anxiety disorders can include medication,
psychotherapy and behavioral techniques. It is important to
learn how to manage stress in your life and how to calm yourself
down when you start to become anxious. This can be done by
identifying what is frightening you (real or imagined), making
a plan to take care of yourself while at the same time soothing
and reassuring yourself that you are in charge and you will
not abandon yourself. If you can calm yourself down you can
reduce the anxiety. Calm your breathing, take in deep breaths
with slow exhales to avoid panting, this will help insure
you are getting in enough oxygen to slow your heart rate down.
If you go to the article on stress it discusses the fight
and flight syndrome in greater detail with more explanation
on how to manage these feelings. |