AnxietyIt is only human to feel anxious …. some of the time. After all it’s part of our survival kit – none of us would live long if anxiety didn’t stop us from taking foolhardy risks. But too much anxiety can be problematic, as you are no doubt aware. When it gets out of control, anxiety can quickly become as disabling as any chronic physical illness.
What is anxiety?
Anxiety can make you imagine things are worse than they are and prevent you from carrying out everyday tasks or even leaving the house. Whereas stress is something that will come and go, anxiety can affect a person even if the cause is unclear.
Anxiety symptoms
While feeling anxious is a natural response, suffering from anxiety long-term can be very intense. Anxiety will affect individuals differently, however, there are common symptoms listed below.
- Rapid and/or irregular heartbeat
- Fast breathing
- Sweating
- Nausea
- Dizziness
- Trouble sleeping
- Feeling irritable
- Lack of concentration
- Panic attacks
Anxiety UK describes anxiety ‘Like a bucket of water. If we keep adding stressors to the bucket, over time if fills up’.
If we keep adding stressors to the bucket (even tiny ones, like the school run or commuting to work), over time it fills up until one day it overflows. This can be a good way of looking at anxiety as it explains why sometimes it can seem to come out of the blue, with no significant trigger.
While some will know what causes their anxiety; after experiencing a traumatic event, for example, others will not have such an identifiable reason. Not knowing the cause of anxiety can sometimes cause a person to experience further distress – if they don’t know the trigger, how can they overcome it?
Perhaps you have experienced overwhelming, unrealistic fears or worry, panic attacks, social phobias, obsessive-compulsive behaviours or post-traumatic stress reactions that have stopped you from living your life as you would like to. All are examples of anxiety running riot, mentally and emotionally crippling us in the process, and a great many suffer from them.
If you would like help with managing your anxiety and understanding the root cause of the problem, why not book a session. Through inner reflections we will try and understand your anxiety in a safe environment and give you the tools to be “you” again.
“Anxiety is not all powerful and inexplicable …. it can be managed when you know how!”