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November 7, 2017
Most people do not recognize their anxiety symptoms, but instead think that there is something "wrong" with them. Some experience physical symptoms among others: stomach pain, increased heart rate, shortness of breath. Others think they are strangely weak and even that they are crazy! Unfortunately, these thoughts only make people feel even more anxious.
Therefore, the first step to managing your anxiety effectively is to learn to understand and recognize it. Self-awareness is very important here.
Anxiety is normal .
Everyone is anxious at times. Anxiety is quite a natural symptom, for example when you are sitting on a roller coaster or before an interview ( 1 ) .
Anxiety is adaptive .
It is a system in our body that:
helps us deal with real danger (for example, fear allows us to jump off the road avoiding a speeding car);
motivates us to do the best (for example, it motivates us to prepare for a large presentation);
when you experience anxiety, there is a "fight-flight-freeze-up" reaction (also called an "adrenaline reaction"). There is this answer body to danger and willingness to defend themselves.
We experience anxiety when we perceive a situation that is threatening to us or think that we are in danger. This is very important information when there is a real danger (e.g. encountering a wild bear in the forest) but becomes a problem when the "perceived danger" is not actually threatening (e.g. talking to someone or running the dog on the lawn ).
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Emotions locked in the body.
It's a hard day at work and you feel the tension around you neck and arms. Hard Talk or public speaking and you feel like your stomach is clenching ...
More on the topic "Fight - Escape - Freeze"
The reaction of our body to a real threat, e.g. meeting a bear in the forest while hiking, can be activated in several ways: run away (run away from the bear), freeze (stay still until the bear is gone), or fight (e.g. scream and wave your arms to make it appear large and scary which can scare the animal away).
This reaction can also occur when something happens that is not really a real danger, but makes you feel at risk, e.g. a job interview. In such a situation, you can Feeling shaky or embarrassed as a result of which to start attack people ( fight) or have difficulty thinking clearly ( freeze ). These feelings can become overwhelming, making you want to avoid being interviewed ( running away ).
Many people stop doing things or avoid places and people who make them uneasy.
Fear is not dangerous.
Though anxiety can cause that you feel uncomfortable, it is not dangerous or harmful for you. Remember that all the feelings you feel when you are worried are not to hurt you, but to protect you from danger.
Fear doesn't last forever.
When you are concerned, you may have the feeling that the anxiety will last forever. Remember that anxiety is temporary. Eventually it decreases and wears off.
Fear is mostly anonymous.
Most people (except those you are close to) cannot recognize when you are concerned.
What happens to your body as it takes control of you bow?
Anxiety can cause many sensations in the body. Remember that an alarmed body is preparing itself for danger. The "changes" taking place in it are called the "alarm response", which takes place when the body's natural alarm system is activated ("fight-flight-freeze").
Rapid heart rate and rapid breathing - When your body prepares to respond to an emergency, it makes sure it is getting enough blood and oxygen. They are passed on to major muscle groups and vital organs, allowing you to escape or fight danger.
Sweating - Sweating cools the body. It also makes the skin slippery, making it difficult for an animal or person to attack you to attack.
Nausea and a sense of "nervousness" in the stomach - When faced with danger, the body shuts down systems / processes that are not needed for survival. In this way, it can direct energy to functions that are essential to survival. Digestion is one of the processes that is not needed in an emergency. For this reason, anxiety can lead to feeling "upset" stomach upset, nausea or diarrhea.
Dizziness or redness - when we are in danger, blood and oxygen flow to the largest muscle groups (legs, arms), and the breathing speeds up to aid this process. This reaction sometimes causes hyperventilation (breathing too quickly, deeply, and intensely) which may make you feel dizzy or red. In addition, because most of the blood and oxygen goes to the arms and legs ("fight or flight"), there is a slight decrease in circulation in the brain, which can lead to dizziness head. Do not worry, a slight decrease in blood flow to the brain is not dangerous.
Heavy or painful chest - your muscles tighten as your body prepares for danger. For this reason, you may feel tightness or pain in your chest every time you want to take a deep breath.
Nausea and tingling sensation - Hyperventilation (taking in too much oxygen in a short time) can cause shaking and tingling sensation. The tingling sensations may be related to the fact that the hairs on our bodies often "face" danger, increasing sensitivity to touch or movement. Finally, fingers and toes we can feel numb because blood flows away from places where it is not needed (fingers) and powers the large muscle groups that are essential (arms, legs).
Feeling unrealistic or "clear vision" - in response to danger, the pupils dilate, thanks to which the eye can more light and we can see more. This reaction can make what we see brighter or blurry, and sometimes less real. This mechanism, in the Stone Age, it made it possible to react quickly to impending danger. Even though today we no longer have to run away from wild animals, the instinctive response is still coded in our brain. This skill is useful today in states of real danger, e.g. in traffic.
Heavy legs - As your legs prepare to respond to danger (fight or flight), increased muscle tension and more blood flowing in can make your legs feel heavy.
Feeling of "choking" - increased muscle tension around the neck or rapid breathing makes the throat dry, which may result in a feeling of shortness of breath.
Hot and cold "waves" - These sensations can be associated with sweating and constriction of the blood vessels in the upper layer of the skin. It's a narrowing blood vessels helps to reduce blood loss if one is left injured in a fight or flight .
How anxiety works.
Anxiety not only affects the body, but also thoughts and behavior. We can consider anxiety from three perspectives:
physical symptoms (our body's reaction),
thoughts (what we say to ourselves ),
behavior (our actions).
Knowing these signs can help you manage your anxiety.
Below in the frame scheme of action: " thoughts - behavior - symptoms ".
THINKS
What if I forget what I want to say during the presentation?
BEHAVIOR
I have to find an excuse not to do this presentation.
PHYSICAL SYMPTOMS
e.g. stomach pain, cold sweat, fast heartbeat.
When does anxiety become a problem?
Anxiety is a problem when the body reacts as if there is a real danger in situations where there is no real danger. It's like having a fire alarm system with a smoke detector, which is non-stop activates - to burnt toast in a toaster, to a burnt cutlet in a pan, to burnt cookies in the oven.
Anxiety is helpful and adaptive if it works properly. But if it turns on every now and then when there is no real danger like a broken alarm, it is not only terrible but also very exhausting. Therefore, it is important for fear to arise at the right moments, protecting us from real threats.
Identify the physical symptoms of anxiety.
You can learn to identify the physical signs of anxiety by asking yourself, "What happens when I am anxious? Where do I feel fear in my body?" For example, you can Sweat a lot, have difficulty breathing, feel dizzy or red, or have symptoms of anxiety in your stomach.
REMEMBER : If you frequently experience many uncomfortable physical symptoms and the doctors cannot find any complaints, you may have anxiety problems. You are definitely not "crazy".
While these symptoms may be uncomfortable, they are not harmful.
Recognizing disturbing thoughts.
Anxiety also affects what we think. Restless thoughts usually cause fear of something bad that may happen to us in the future - the future may last for the next 5 seconds, 5 minutes, or 5 years.
Noticing disturbing behavior.
Anxiety can make you very uncomfortable. Make you believe the danger, so no wonder you feel a strong urge to run away or avoid situations / actions / people that make you anxious.
To help you identify the situations you are avoiding, try to think of as many answers as possible to the following questions:
If you woke up tomorrow morning and all your fears were gone, what would you do?
How would you behave?
How would someone close to you recognize that it was not do you feel anxious?
Complete the following sentences:
My fear holds back me ...
When I don't worry, I'll be able to ...
There may be times when anxiety is constant and makes it difficult to function in everyday life. We are talking then about anxiety disorders. According to ICD-10 (International Classification of Diseases) in adults we distinguish, among others the following anxiety disorders:
phobic anxiety disorders (F40)
agoraphobia (F40.0)
social phobias (F40.1),
specific (isolated) forms of phobias (F40.2)
other anxiety disorders (F41)
anxiety disorder with panic attacks (panic disorder) (F41.0),
generalized anxiety disorder (F41.1),
mixed anxiety and depressive disorders (F41.2).
A common feature of all these disorders is the excitation of the autonomic system, when there is no real threat to life and health.
If anxiety occurs constantly, is very strong and interferes with everyday functioning, it is necessary to visit a doctor or psychologist. The first will prescribe medications to relieve your symptoms, the second will help you cope with the thoughts and behaviors that your anxiety is driving.
Holistic approach to anxiety.
It is always worth considering the causes of anxiety and taking a holistic look at your own body. The holistic approach to anxiety aims to discover the cause and symptoms of anxiety by examining imbalances in different body systems. There is a balance in the body between the sympathetic (sympathetic) nervous system (fight or flight) and the parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digestion).
When one system is on, the other is off. A healthy body can oscillate between the two systems quickly. Activate the fight-or-flight response under stress, or rest and digest when not has threats. Bow is current In fight or escape, that is when activated is
sympathetic nervous system.
1. Cause: Stress
A large number of people suffer from mental, emotional or physical stress. Chronic stress causes the production of cortisol (a stress hormone), which alone can disrupt the level of happiness hormones in the brain , such as serotonin and dopamine.
Chronic stress can lead to burnout or excessive fatigue, making the body respond to stress in a healthy way. Instead of producing cortisol, the adrenal glands rely on epinephrine and norepinephrine (adrenaline and norepinephrine) to confront stress ( 2 ). These hormones cause symptoms of anxiety, such as increased heart rate, rapid breathing, muscle tension, mental fatigue, dry mouth, and sweating of the hands. The transition of the body into a state of fight or flight increases restlessness or worsens existing symptoms ( 3 ).
Too much stress in life is very often associated with a lack of sleep . A lot of work that we also do at the expense of sleep hours. Being upset that we have no chance to fall asleep, even if we are lying in bed, because overwhelming thoughts distract us from relaxing and falling asleep. An organism that does not rest at night is more prone to stress during the day.
2. Cause: malnutrition and hypoglycemia (hypoglycemia)
Protein, vitamins and minerals are your primary source, thanks which has millions of chemical reactions in the body. Trying to cure anxiety without proper nutrients it's like building a house without bricks, cement, or nails.
Stress, due to increased demand on production cortisol can spoil these valuable ingredients, increasing our dietary needs. Short the content of vitamins and minerals in the food we eat (food processed; high sugar content in the daily diet) causes the body I do not get getting enough essential nutrients.
Also, an increase and decrease in blood sugar levels can cause hypoglycemia ( 4 ) . The symptoms of hypoglycaemia can be similar to those of anxiety, such as dizziness, fast heartbeat, irritability, sweating and tiredness.
Iron deficiency can also increase the feeling of anxiety especially in menstruating women and vegetarians. Iron is a carrier of oxygen in the blood, its level is lowered may lead to a reduction oxygen in the body causing an increased heart rate and breath and as a result these symptoms can be confused with anxiety or panic attacks.
On average, for 1 kg of body weight of an adult there is - from 40 (in women) - up to 50 (in men) mg of iron ( 5 ).
3. Cause: Digestive problems.
Although serotonin, the happiness hormone, is active above all in the brain, research shows that our happiness and well-being is also dependent on the gastrointestinal tract. Some researchers say we have two brains , the other one in the gut. Therefore, disruptions in the functioning of digestive cells or bacteria in the digestive tract can lead to mood disorders as well as cause IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome). ( 6 ).
Food sensitivity (intolerances, allergies), health problems as well problems with the integrity of the intestines (tightness, lack of appropriate bacterial flora) can lead to the spread of inflammation throughout the body, affecting the nervous system ( 7 ). Scientists found that low levels of inflammation in the brain and an overactive immune system can contribute to depression and other problems health mental and even to "failure" in operation brain leading for memory loss, headaches, difficulty concentrating and memory problems.
also inability to digest and absorb protein as well lack of micronutrients the ability to produce neurotransmitters such as serotonin, which they require protein for production, vitamins and minerals.
4. Cause: Imbalance hormonal.
Due to the high exposure to xenoestrogens - toxic estrogens, foreign estrogens, many women suffers from a phenomenon called "estrogen dominance" manifested too high level estrogen In the body or insufficient level of progesterone, What it causes an imbalance balance hormonal. Estrogen levels in American women are twice that of women from developing countries.
Symptoms of estrogen dominance are weight gain, heavy and painful menstruation irregular periods, fibroids, acne, PMS, infertility, and an increased incidence of female cancers such as breast and ovarian cancer ( 8 ).
Estrogen and progesterone, in addition to being hormones females, which control secondary sex characteristics such as breast and hip development and fertility, also affect the brain. They can cause irritability and anxiety symptoms while progesterone has a soothing and calming effect. If not controlled, estrogen dominance can aggravate or cause anxiety.
5. Cause: Basic beliefs and mental schemas.
Our brains are combined with our life experiences and the lessons that life has given us, especially if they are the experiences were accompanied by strong emotions such as trauma. These emotional memories are often hidden and non-verbal, preserved below the level of our conscious thoughts. Once formed, memories can last a lifetime, influencing our thoughts, emotions, and behavioral responses as triggers.
Anxiety and other mental disorders can often be symptoms of these emotional memories, also known as "core beliefs" or "mental patterns." These beliefs automatically and unconditionally dictate how the world works, and if we do not notice them, we do not know about them they can limit us in life, closing many possibilities for us.
When these mind patterns are triggered in a certain situation, anxiety symptoms can arise. Getting to the bottom of the symptoms and analyzing our memories and experiences is the key to unlocking the unknown causes of mental mood disorders.
Treatment depends primarily to identify specific symptoms, searching potential causes and learning techniques to help you deal with anxiety.