The What, Why, How on ANXIETY
Introduction
Everyone experiences anxiety and fear at times. It is a natural response to stress or perceived threats, but for some people, anxiety can become chronic and debilitating, affecting their daily lives and overall well-being.
This may indicate an anxiety disorder. Often, there appears to be no obvious or logical reason for the way the person feels. This may make an anxiety disorder even more worrying to the sufferer.
Anxiety has two basic components:
1) A load of worry,
2) The expectation of some bad outcome.
Symptoms of anxiety can vary from person to person and may include restlessness, irritability, anger issues, difficulty concentrating, breathlessness, muscle tension, panic attacks, rapid heartbeat, sweating, gastrointestinal issues, immune disorders, and other medical conditions. These physical symptoms can often exacerbate the emotional symptoms of anxiety, such as excessive worrying, fear of losing control, and feelings of impending doom. This can also lead to avoidance behaviour, where a person may go to extreme lengths to avoid a situation that they think could bring on anxiety or panic.
Anxiety can be triggered by a variety of factors, including genetics, brain chemistry, traumatic life events, or ongoing stress. It can also be exacerbated by certain lifestyle factors, such as poor sleep, lack of exercise, or unhealthy coping mechanisms like substance abuse.
Anxiety is regarded as a disorder when the worry is more intense than a situation warrants, it persists for weeks or months, the thoughts of worry are difficult to control, and they interfere with everyday functioning.
Anxiety disorders include:
• Generalised anxiety disorder
• Social phobias – fear of social situations
• Specific phobias – for example a fear of open spaces (agoraphobia) or enclosed spaces (claustrophobia)
• Panic disorders – frequent and debilitating panic attacks.
Understanding Stress / Threat Response
Anxiety manifests in the mind and body. When someone experiences a stressful event or perceives a threat—whether real or imagined—the amygdala, an area of the brain that contributes to emotional processing, sends a distress signal to the hypothalamus. This area of the brain functions like a command centre, communicating with the rest of the body.
After the amygdala sends a distress signal, the hypothalamus sends signals through the autonomic nerves to the adrenal glands. This triggers the release of stress hormones like adrenalin and cortisol, which activate the sympathetic nervous system, causing the body to go into high-alert survival mode. This stimulates the multiple physical symptoms of anxiety. Your heart beats faster, and your pulse rate increases. So does your blood pressure. Breathing accelerates; you may feel short of breath.
Other symptoms include:
• dizziness
• muscle tension
• trembling or shaking
• dry mouth
• sweating
• stomachache
• headache
When the threat passes, cortisol levels fall. The parasympathetic nervous system then dampens the stress response.
Occasional amount of anxiety is normal. However, when anxiety is intense or overwhelming, persistent, interferes with everyday functioning or important activities, and is out of proportion to the actual dangers faced, then it is considered a disorder or clinical condition.
While fear is a response to an immediate danger, there might not be any external trigger for anxiety. Rather, it is a response to a real or imagined future threat. This is caused by heightened sensitivity of the amygdala and a dysregulated nervous system.
Causes
Anxiety can be caused by a combination of genetic, environmental, and psychological factors. Some common causes of anxiety include:
1. Genetics: Research suggests that anxiety disorders may run in families, indicating a genetic predisposition to anxiety. Individuals with a family history of anxiety disorders may be more likely to develop anxiety themselves.
2. Brain chemistry: Imbalances in neurotransmitters, such as serotonin and dopamine, can contribute to the development of anxiety. These chemicals play a crucial role in regulating mood, emotions, and stress responses.
3. Traumatic life events: Experiencing traumatic events, such as abuse, accidents, or natural disasters, can trigger anxiety symptoms. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a common anxiety disorder that can develop in response to trauma.
4. Stress: Chronic stress from work, school, relationships, or other life challenges can lead to persistent feelings of anxiety. High levels of stress can overwhelm the body's natural coping mechanisms and contribute to the development of anxiety disorders.
5. Personality traits: Certain personality traits, such as perfectionism, high sensitivity, or a tendency to worry excessively, may increase the likelihood of developing anxiety disorders. These traits can make individuals more prone to stress and anxiety.
6. Medical conditions: Certain medical conditions, such as heart disease, thyroid disorders, or chronic pain, can trigger anxiety symptoms. Additionally, substance abuse or withdrawal from drugs or alcohol can also contribute to anxiety.
7. Environmental factors: Living in a high-stress environment, experiencing financial difficulties, or facing social pressure can all contribute to feelings of anxiety. Traumatic experiences, childhood adversity, or ongoing life challenges can also play a role in the development of anxiety disorders.
It's important to note that anxiety is a complex and multifaceted condition with no single cause. Each individual may experience anxiety for different reasons, and a combination of factors may contribute to the development of anxiety disorders. In addition, the sources of anxiety may change over the course of a lifetime, but the tendency to react to difficult situations with anxiety endures. You don’t really need to know the reason for your anxiety. Rather, you can rewire your brain and reduce the anxiety.
Anxiety and your nervous system
Your nervous system is divided into two primary components:
1) Central Nervous System – Brain and spinal cord- thinks, plans, rationalisers.
2) The peripheral nervous system (PNS). The PNS further divides into the somatic and autonomic nervous systems, with the autonomic system being responsible for involuntary bodily functions.
The Autonomic Nervous System – The autonomic nervous system comprises two parts- the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. The sympathetic nervous system activates the fight or flight response during a threat or perceived danger, and the parasympathetic nervous system restores the body to a state of calm (rest and digest)- regulated by the Vagus Nerve – runs throughout the body and controls the body’s automatic responses – responds- reacts- feels- reacts or responds automatically to stimuli- reacts to memory or sensory data without thought or logic.
Anxiety is the result of a dysregulated nervous system and vagal tone. Your body has gone into either a fight, flight, or freeze mode.
We must first find ways to cope (when having an anxiety attack) and, secondly, ways to heal, which can take time.
Coping
Remember, when you are experiencing an anxiety attack, your body is in flight, flight or freeze mode. Your sympathetic nervous system is activated, and your body is in fear/survival mode. It needs to fight or flight. Therefore, exercising, boxing (punching bag), doing energising exercises (tensing and releasing), crying, using cold packs, cold showers (to shock and shift the focus during the attack - with Dr’s advice), shaking body, and repeating affirmations such as “I am safe”, can help calm down the attack.
Although so, continuous work and healing must be done to put a stop to the unwarranted attacks. Otherwise, it can lead to further mental health and physical issues. It is best to break out of the habitual pattern of tension and shift out of an activated sympathetic nervous system state by balancing and regulating the nervous system (turning on the Parasympathetic Nervous System) and strengthening the vagal tone.
Anything that makes us feel safe and provides a sense of trust can turn on the Parasympathetic responses.
I would suggest starting with meditation and mindfulness to help you become more aware of your body, thoughts, emotions, and actions. This way, you can catch yourself before getting into a full-blown anxiety attack, and it can help you understand your triggers.
Exercises that can help turn up Parasympathetic responses and strengthen Vagal tone:
1) Laughter
2) Breathing exercises
3) Humming, chanting, singing, gargling
4) Chewing Gum
5) Energisation (tighten and then relax the entire body and visualise energy flowing through the spine like a fountain)
6) Connection (hugs – people, animals)
7) Sharing a meal, mindful eating
8) Nature - earthing, grounding, hugging a tree, plant gazing
9) Meditation / Prayers
10) Massage / Butterfly strokes
11) Tapping
12) Reiki, Bodywork
13) Affirmations – I am safe, I am happy, I am love - hug/touch your body while saying these affirmations
14) Being present / mindfulness
15) Having a balanced routine – turning off work after working hours - balancing with housework, family, leisure
16) Exercise – somatic, yoga, polyvagal exercises
17) Having an anchor – Stop & Replace or a reminder of what to do in steps
18) Baths - salt baths, flower baths, ocean baths
19) Rocking - using a rocking chair, swing
20) Listen to soothing music - Schumann Resonance (7.83 Hz), 432 Hz Frequency Music
21) Hypnotherapy/Psychotherapy to laser focus on the underlying issues, reprogram the subconscious mind, release fear from the body, regulate the nervous system and vagus nerve, and help create coping mechanisms during the attacks. Applying highly innovative therapeutic techniques utilising the powerful solution focused techniques of Hypnotherapy, Psychotherapy, NLP, EFT, and CBT, most of my clients are able to alleviate anxiety quickly and efficiently.
Need help with Anxiety? Visit www.amreetastara.com or email : info@amreetastara.com