Show Anxiety Who’s Boss!
Anxiety is still a topic many of us don’t want to talk about and find it hard to do so. Anxiety can make our life’s miserable if not kept under control and this can lead to other mood disorders developing such as depression. There are many people walking around who on the outside look perfectly fine however inside they are suffering. Anxiety can affect anyone of us despite age, gender, profession and so on.
Many people say they suffer with Anxiety but what exactly is it?
Anxiety is the body’s natural response to danger, it’s a biological process designed to keep you safe from harm. Many many years ago before the times of Facebook, Instagram, and Whats App, civilisation didn’t have to worry about trivial things. Instead humans spent their days hunting animals and being at one with nature. Anxiety- also known as your fight or flight response is triggered when there is danger. Whilst humans spent their days hunting, sometimes they came face to face with tigers, it was then that the fight of flight response kicked in making them able to run away or fight the tiger.
Without the fight or flight response, civilisation would not have survived so you can see why this fight or flight response otherwise known as anxiety was useful. In today’s world, thankfully we don’t have the threat of tigers, unless you’re at the zoo. However, our fight or flight response still remains very much active. This isn’t a bad thing as it prevents us from harm and without it you simply wouldn’t survive. However, research has shown that some peoples fight or flight response is more sensitive than others. This means that sometimes it can become active even when there isn’t any threat posed. When the fight or flight response becomes active, it can produce some very uncomfortable thoughts and feelings both physically and psychologically.
Anxiety can present itself in the following forms;
Psychological Symptoms of Anxiety
A feeling like something bad is going to happen but you can’t explain what.
Irritability
Finding it difficult to concentrate
Feeling ‘on edge’
Feeling like you can’t relax or sit still
Physical symptoms of Anxiety
Palpitations (Heart racing)
Sweating
Dizziness
Blurry vision
Headaches
Unexplained Physical aches and pains
Feeling sick
Pins and needles
What can you do to help reduce anxiety?
· Join a support Group
· Try some relaxation
· Have a course of acupuncture to help relax
· Try some Complementary Therapies.
· Exercise daily
· Start a diary of thoughts and feelings
· Eat a healthy Diet
· Avoid caffeine or reduce your intake
· Avoid Smoking and Alcohol
If anxiety is taking over your life and the activities suggested are still not helping, it may be worth booking in to see you GP.
Remember as with all self-help strategies, they do not work overnight. You have to invest time and effort to see a difference but over a period you should feel the benefits.
Some helpful support groups include;