Anxiety

What is anxiety?

Anxiety is something we all experience from time to time. It is a normal response to situations that we see as threatening to us. For example, if we had to go into the hospital for an operation, or had to sit a driving test, or take an exam, itwould be natural for us to be anxious. anxiety at certain levels can even be helpful in some situations, such aswhen we need to preform well or cope with an emergency.

Anxiety affects us in at leastfour different ways. It affects -

- The way we feel

- The way we think

- The way your body works

- The way we behave

The following lists may help you discover if you may be suffering with anxiety -

How you feel -

- Anxious, nervous, afraid, worried etc

- Feeling like something awful is going to happen

- Tense, stressed, uptight, on edge, unsettled etc

-Unreal, strange, woozy, detached, panicky

How you think -

- Constant worrying

- Can't concerntrate

- Thouhgts racing

- Mind jumping from one thing to another

- Imagining the worst and dwelling on it

- Going over same worries again and again

Common thoughts -

- "I'm losing control"

- "I'm cracking up"

- "I'm going to faint"

- "My legs are going collapse"

- "I'm going to have a heart attack"

- "I'm going to make a fool of myself"

- "I can't cope"

- "I've got to get out

What happens to your body -

- Heart pounds, races, skips a beat

- Chest feel tight or painful

- Tingling or numbness in toes or fingers

- Stomach churning or butterflies

- Having to usethe bathroom

- Feeling jumping or restless

- Tense muscles

- Body aching

- Sweating

- Breathing changes

- Dizzy, light headed etc

What you do -

- Pace up and down

- Start jobs and not finish

- Can't sit or relax

- On on the go all the time

- Talk quickly or more than usual

- Snappy and irritable behaviour

- Drink more alcohol

- Smokes more

- Eat more (or less)

- Avoid feared situations

If you are regularly experiencing some or all of these symptoms, then you may be suffering from anxiety.

What causes anxiety?

Anxiety is the feeling we get when our body respond to a frightening or threatening experience. It is called the flight or flight response. It is the body's defence mechanism to protect us from a possible threat, this response is to make you more agile.

to help you understand what is happening in your body, imagine that you are about to be attacked. As soon as you are awre of the threat, your muscles tense ready for action. Your heart beats faster to carry blood to your muscles and brain, where it is most needed. You breathe faster to provide oxygen which is needed for energy. You sweat to stop your body overheating. Your mouth becomes dry and you may have butterflies in your stomach. When you realise that the attacker is in fact a friend, your feelings die away, but you may feel shaky and weak from the experience. The flight or fight response is a really basic system that probably goes back to the days of cave men, and is also present in animals who depend on it for their survival.Fortunately, these days we are often not in such lifeor death situations, but unfortunately many of the stresses we do face, can't be fought or ran away from, so the symptoms don't help. In fact they often make us feel worse, especially if we don't understand them.

Causes of anxiety -

There may be many causes of anxiety:

- Some people may have an anxious personality and have learned to worry.

- Or have had an early experience that make then feel anxious and insecure.

- Others may have a series of stressful life events to cope with, for example, bereavements, redundency, divorce etc...

Others may feel under pressure at work, for example, working long hours, feeling understaffed.

- Or at home for example because of financial, family or relationship problems.

How can I manage my anxiety better?

As we have learned, anxiety is not an illness and therefore cannot be cured. If we could break the vicious circle, however, we can learn ways of reducing your anxiety and getting it to be more manageable. We can work on at least four different areas:

- Understanding anxiety better and beginning to tackle some of the causes

- Reducing physical symptoms

- Altering thoughts related to anxiety

- Changing behaviours related to anxiety

1. Understanding and beginning to tackle anxiety

You may already by now have some idea what could be causing your anxiety. The following sections will give advice on how tobreak out of this vicious circle that keeps anxiety going.

However before you can do this, it is very useful for you to understand your anxiety a little better. Is your anxiety related to certain situations, places or people? Is it worse at particular time of the day? Are there realistic worries you have that would make anyone anxious? The following should help you to understand and begin to manage your anxiety better.

2. Anxiety diary -

For a period of time it may be helpful to keep a diary. Every hour write down everything you can. Also write down your activity levels, rate your level of anxiety from 1 - 10. What you do throughout the day is important, because it can help with finding a solution. From the tiniest thing such as making a cup of tea to something such as doing something you never thought you would, such as volunteering. These are all victories, NO MATTER HOW SMALL... Make sure you write down what you were thinking etc. Also note down whatever you may be avoiding...

3. Problem solving

If you become aware that you have a realistic worry or problem that you feel may be causing you anxiety, a problem solving approach may help.

A good way to begin is to write down the problem. Define it as clearly as you can. For example "I never have any money" is too vague. Something like"I owe £3000 to different credit card companies", is more helpful. Next, think of as many possible solutions as you can. It doesn't matter how silly you think the solutions are, the point is to think of as many as you ca. Try to think how have solved similar problems in the past. Ask a friend what they would do. Then write down all the possible solutions.

Problem

"I owe £3000 to different credit card companies"

Possible Solutions

- Get all debts on one loan with less interest

- Agree on affordable payments

- See a debt counsellor

- Get a part time job

- Sell car

- Work some overtime

Try it...

Stress Lifestyle - General Tips

Nowadays life is often stressful, and it is easy for for pressures to bulid up. We can't always control the stress that comes from outside but we can find ays to reduce the pressure we put on ourselves:

- To identify situations you find stressful by noticing the beginning of tension.

- Take steps to tackle what is it about these situations that you find stressful.

- Make sure you have time for things you enjoy.

- If you feel stressed at work, consider talking to your manager.

- Take up a relaxing hobby.

- Make sure your getting enough sleep.

- Eat a well balanced diet.

- Take regular exercise.

- Learn to relax.

Relaxation

In order to reduce the severity of physical symptoms it is useful to nip them in the bud, by recognising the early signs of tension.

Once you have noticed the early signs of tension you can prevent anxiety becoming too severe by using relaxation techniques. Some people can relax through exercise, listening to music, watching tv or reading a book etc...

For others it is more helpful to have have set of exercises to follow. Some people might find relaxation or yoga classes most help, others find CDs useful. You may be able to obtain fromyour GP, and there are also a wide of relaxation CDs available in shops. If you have internet acess, there are a number of apps or recording that you can download often free of charge.

Relaxation is a skill like any other which needs to be learned, and takes time.

Deep Muscle Relaxation

- Hands - clench fists, then relax.

- Arms - bend your elbows and tense your arms. Feel the tension, especially in your upper arms. Remember, do this for a few seconds then relax.

- Neck - press your head back and roll it side to side slowly. Feel how the tension moves. Then bring your head forward intoa comfortable position.

- Face - there are several muscles here, but is it enough to think about your forehead and jaw. First lower your eyebrows ina frown. Relax your forehead. You can also eyebrows and then relax. Now, clenchyour jaw, notice the tension the difference when you relax.

- Chest - take a breath, hold it for a few few seconds, notice the tension, then relax. Let your breathing return to normal.

- Stomach - tense your stomach muscles as tight as you can and relax.

- Buttocks - squeeze your buttocks together, then relax

- Legs - straighten your legs and bend your feet towards your face. Finish by wiggling your toes.

To make best use of relaxation you need to:

- Practice daily.

- Start to use relaxation in everyday situations.

- Learn to relax without having to tense your muscles.

- Use parts of the relaxation to help in difficult situations, e.g. breathing slowly.

- Delvelop a more relaxed lifestyle.

Try some controlled breathing methods and distracion techniques, try altering your thoughts related to anxiety.

Thanks for reading and Try everything, always here x