Index
Last Updated on June 28, 2024
Most of the time, people want to be in control of things. When they can’t take do it, the future seems obscure and they feel anxious because of the uncertainty.
Let’s dive deeper into what anxiety is, what it does to your body and how to deal with it.
What is anxiety?
Anxiety is a normal emotion that everyone feels from time to time. It’s the brain’s way of reacting to stress and alerting you to potential dangers.
Nowadays, a potential danger is not the risk of a wild animal attack, but it may simply be a family reunion, going on a first date, the risk of losing a job, or a big presentation coming up at work.
What happens to your body when you feel anxious?
Psychological symptoms:
- Excessive worrying: One of the hallmark symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), marked by persistent, excessive worry that is difficult to control.
- Feeling agitated: When anxious, your sympathetic nervous system goes into overdrive, leading to physical symptoms like a racing heart, shaking hands, or a dry mouth.
- Restlessness: A feeling of being unable to relax or sit still, commonly seen in both adults and children with anxiety.
- Fatigue: Despite possibly seeming counterintuitive, anxiety can also lead to significant tiredness, which may not always be relieved by rest.
- Difficulty concentrating: Many people with anxiety report feeling unfocused or having trouble concentrating on tasks.
Physical symptoms:
- Muscle tension: Persistent tension, tightness, or muscle aches are commonly reported with anxiety.
- Trouble sleeping: Difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep is often associated with anxiety, as worries or fears may interrupt sleep.
- Panic attacks: Severe episodes of anxiety can lead to panic attacks, characterized by sudden, intense fear or discomfort, palpitations, sweating, trembling, shortness of breath, or a feeling of impending doom.
- Irritability: Increased irritability is frequently noted in individuals dealing with anxiety.
- Gastrointestinal problems: Anxiety can also affect your gut, leading to symptoms like diarrhea, constipation, or nausea.
Emotional symptoms:
- Dread: A constant sense of dread or apprehension about the future or even the day ahead.
- Nervousness: Feeling on edge or nervous most of the time, or about many things.
- Panic: Sudden feelings of panic or panic attacks, often without a clear trigger.
How to cope with anxiety
There’s no doubt that coping with the state of being anxious is a hard thing to do. However, there are some tricks that you can use to deal with feelings of distress and discomfort anxiety creates.
1) Identify what triggers your anxiety
Everybody has different triggers for anxiety. The most powerful way to deal with anxiety is to identify those triggers. If you know your enemies, your chances of defeating them get higher.
Is your anxiety related to your manager at work, someone from your family, your school grades, a bullying classmate, or something else?
Write in a journal when you feel stressed or anxious. You can write your thoughts, emotions, and physical symptoms of anxiety you experience. Writing down what makes you anxious and what happens to your body and mind can really help you get that matter out of your head. This way, the troubling and intrusive thoughts may become less worrisome.
2) Cut the negativity out of your life as much as possible
Try to understand that although you can’t get all negativity out of your life, you can change certain things.
If watching a specific TV show, the news, or talking to a certain person triggers your anxiety, be mindful of that thing, and pull yourself out of that area. Be strict about that, or at least do your best to cut these negative influences out of your life.
3) Focus on equal breathing
If you are in a situation making you anxious and you can’t do anything to change it, give a chance to yogic breathing exercise: Equal breathing. It basically means to equalize your duration of inhalation and exhalation.
Start counting to 4 while inhaling and when you reach 4, start exhaling while counting to 4 again. If reaching 4 is not possible for you while breathing, you can change the number of seconds. Just make sure that your inhaling and exhaling duration is equal. During the exercise, focus on the numbers you count. Repeat this exercise for at least 5 minutes. Don’t hesitate to lengthen your exercise if you feel like doing more.
You may be sitting or lying while doing the exercise, just make yourself comfortable. You may close your eyes to concentrate on counting while breathing.
At the end of this breathing session, you may feel that your heart rate has slowed down and your feelings of anxiety have become less intense.
To sum up
Anxiety is a normal experience that everyone faces from time to time. The worst aspect of it is when it becomes persistent. By using the techniques mentioned above, you won’t be running away from your problems. Instead, you will become more aware of them, which can help reduce their impact on you.
