It’s hard to accomplish anything when you’re experiencing anxiety, due to your racing thoughts and the fact that your heart beats so fast that you can barely breathe. Your anxiety can be so intense that you might as well be traveling through time in those moments. There’s so much going on in your head that you’re not paying attention to what’s going on around you.
In this post, I provide everything you need to know about Anxiety and understand how anxiety works, so you are better prepared next time it affects you.
Table of Contents
What is Anxiety?
The Oxford’s dictionary gives us 4 definitions on anxiety:
- The state of feeling nervous or worried that something bad is going to happen.
- A mental illness that causes somebody to worry so much that it has a very negative effect on their daily life.
- A worry or fear about something.
- A strong feeling of wanting to do something or of wanting something to happen.
The truth is that having some level of anxiety is normal, and even necessary it’s sort of a protective reflex that helps us to keep us safe, but to much of it can affect our every day life. That is why for this post I have based my research on the definitions 2 and 4 that are stated above.
What is The Main Cause of Anxiety and 5 Important Symptoms You Need to be Aware Off
It is not entirely clear what causes anxiety disorders, however those who are predisposed to anxiety disorders seem to be more likely to develop them after experiencing traumatic events.
With this said, here are 5 important symptoms you should know about:
- When you are feeling very worried, but you can’t control it.
- Your heart rate increases
- Hyperventilation
- Having trouble sleeping
- You can’t concentrate or think about anything else other than the what is worrying you.
Anxiety disorders are not to be taken lightly! Without proper care things can escalate to extremely dangerous situations like:
- Suffering from depression
- Substance abuse
- Social isolation
- Suicide
6 Ways to Manage Anxiety
There’s no way to predict for certain what will cause someone to develop an anxiety disorder, but you can take steps to reduce the impact of symptoms if you’re anxious:
1. Deep Breaths
Here is a 5 minutes meditation video, from Goodful, that I love. This will at the very least help you slow down and reduce the chances of going into a fool blown panic attack.
5-Minute Meditation You Can Do Anywhere
2. Question yourself and your feelings
Sometimes anxiety gets us to overthink things and puts all the worst-case scenarios in our head. Question everything! Ask your self, how likely is this to actually happen? If you are too much in your head and don’t know how to answer, try telling it to someone else, they can give you a different perspective.
3. Write it down
Like I’ve said before writing down your emotions can help you cope with anxiety and sadness, it gives you a place to slow your mind and analyze the situation a bit better. Just empty your thoughts on a piece of paper! If you want more information on how journaling can help you, check out this post on The Benefits of Journaling for Mental Health.
4. Move. Look for something to do
Get yourself moving, touch things, put on your favorite song and sing your heart out, do a hobby, go take a look at your garden… Do anything you have to do in order to maintain your head in the present.
Sometimes when we have high levels of anxiety we feel a sort of out of body experience, am I right? Getting yourself active can help reduce this sensation.
5. Take a break from social media
I honestly don’t think this needs any further explanation, but it can be healthy to take an hour or two away from social media.
6. And…just in case this isn’t obvious! Stay way from alcohol or any other substance that will not let you be in control of yourself.
When to decide it’s too much and you need more help
Guys, all of this tips and tricks do help, but they do not replace professional help! It’s also possible that your anxiety is so intense that it is actually affecting your everyday life, even your health. If that’s the case for you, remember that no hack is a replacement for the work required that only a licensed mental health professional can offer.
While researching I stumbled upon the Mayo Clinic website. They are one of the best hospitals in the world, and they have an informational post dedicated to anxiety disorders. According to them, you should see a doctor when:
- You feel like you’re worrying too much and it’s interfering with your work, relationships or other parts of your life
- Your fear, worry or anxiety is upsetting to you and difficult to control
- You feel depressed, have trouble with alcohol or drug use, or have other mental health concerns along with anxiety
- You think your anxiety could be linked to a physical health problem
- You have suicidal thoughts or behaviors — if this is the case, seek emergency treatment immediately
From <https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/anxiety/symptoms-causes/syc-20350961>
Well guys this is it! I hope this was useful for all of you! If you would like to know the real reason behind why I take this subjects so personally and why I even started this blog in the first place, let me know in the comments below!
…it’s a pretty sad story which is why I haven’t really talked about it before.
Until next time,
Luna
