Do You Suffer From Too Much Anxiety Stress and Worry ?Anxiety stress and worry are so common in our modern lives. At times life can feel overwhelming and too much to handle! You may feel like everything is about to go wrong if you don't struggle to keep control of everything around you. You feel tense, anxious, unable to relax, let go and live your life. Anxiety is a normal part of being human. Everyone experiences feeling anxious from time to time. But sometimes anxiety begins to take control of your life. You find yourself consumed by anxiety stress and worry, and no longer able to enjoy life.
If you are starting to feel like being anxious - either in general or in response to specific situations - is having a significant negative impact on your life, it is time to start doing something about it! Do You Have An Anxiety Disorder?If your anxiety gets so overwhelming that it significantly interfers with your ability to live a normal life --- you may have an anxiety disorder. Though numbers may vary, it is estimated that 40 million Americans have anxiety disorders. This is not just an 'adult' illness. Children and teens can and do get anxiety disorders. It's estimated that approximately 8 to 10 out of every 100 children are affected by anxiety disorders. There are several different types of anxiety disorders: Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)A person constantly worries and feels tense, anxious and flooded with catastrophic thoughts. Worry can be over specific things or over everything and is exaggerated. The levels of anxiety are very intrusive and has a significant impact n the life of the sufferer robbing them of joy, relaxation and pleasure.PhobiasIntense specific fears of specific things (eg being afraid of spiders or elevators)events or circumstances.Social Anxiety DisorderAlso sometimes known as social phobia, social anxiety disorder is quite common, and involves intense fear of interaction with other people. Being embarrassed, humiliated, stared at and 'under the spotlight' are can be major sources of anxiety and stress if you have social phobia.Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)This disorder is characterized by urgent and repetitive thoughts and behavior. The behavior is ritualized and is performed in order to provide a sense of calm to ease anxiety through repetition of specific tasks or motions, and may be imbued with a sense of prevention of a bad event or as a form of punishment.Panic disorderIntense, terrifying fear that may appear in reaction to particular events or out of the blue, with no apparent reason causing a panic atack. Individuals with panic disorder fear the prospect of having a panic attack. It is in essence the fear of fear.AgoraphobiaThis condition is usually a complication of panic disorder. A person who has panic attacks begins to fear them and limits their activities to "safe" places in an attempt to reduce the liklihood of thier occurrence. Individuals often have difficulty going to specific places or events where panic attacks previously occured and are often eventually confined to their homes.Don't worry if you feel you might have problems with anxiety, but don't see a category above that exactly fits you and your symptoms. Some people have combinations of different anxiety disorders at the same time, or slightly similar situations that don't quite fit into the description of a particular condition. Each person is unique and the categories above are just labels.
Anxiety is actually an "adaptive response"It is important to understand that anxiety in itself is not a "bad" thing - it actually has a very useful function. And for this reason you do not want to eliminate it. You just want to manage it more effectively, so that you are in charge, not your nervousness!
Adaptive responses are behaviors that are essential to our survival - in day to day modern life but even more importantly long ago when our ancestors lived in the wild , closer to nature. A sense of anxiety is actually related to chemical changes in our bodies. Our bodies respond to possible danger by flooding our nervous system with chemicals that prepare it to flee, freeze or fight. You have probably heard of the "flight or fight response". This is it! This system can charge your body up with a blast of power and remarkable strength to enable you to escape danger. While this marvelous system works so beautifully for creatures in the wild, it can have mixed benefits in modern life. Our Modern Sedentary Life - Foods and Habits - Contribute To Anxiety Stress and WorryIn the wild, the powerful neurochemicals blast through your body and are quickly discharged once the body reacts - most often by by fighting or running away quickly. Since we lead rather sedentary lives in the modern world, the neurochemicals that are released continue to flow through our bodies. We are left with a feeling of anxiety stress and worry that never seems to go away. Certain substances such as nicotine, refined sugars, and caffeine can also contribute to feelings of anxiety because they cause chemical reactions in the body that are similar to the flight or fight response. Our Intelligent Minds Complicate Matters!Complicated creatures that we are, we humans sometimes react to feelings of anxiety stress and worry by getting even more worried about being worried! We sometimes begin to obsess about situations, or avoid situations in the hopes of allieviating feelings of fear, anxiety stress and worry! All of this usually just makes things worse! Don't Wait! Help Yourself Now!As you can see the longer you wait to deal with overwhelming feelings of anxiety stress and worry, the more complicated and difficult to get rid of it is! Anxiety disorder is easily controlled but will require focus and committment and work on your behalf to change your thinking patterns and lifestyle choices. Yes you can take medication for anxiety, and in some cases it may be a required short term solution - but you are just hiding the symptoms - not getting at the cause! If you think you might be having trouble with anxiety you will be glad to know that there are many effective ways you can ease the pain of anxiety - from therapy, to self-help, hypnosis and even anti anxiety herbs!
Find out more about ways to reduce anxiety. What are some effective treatment options to reduce anxiety. Return from Overwhelming Anxiety Stress and Worry to the Panic And Agoraphobia home page. |
