Anxiety

What is it?

Anxiety can be experienced in different ways but essentially is a feeling of unease. It can be a healthy response calling us into action, perhaps it may be a job interview or important meeting, or perhaps going on a date. Anxiety can often be present when doing something for the first time too, or anything that requires us to spring into action.

Our autonomic nervous system is wired to produce a fight or flight response when we experience threat of danger. The classic notion is that via human evolution it was more likely that we would have to flee suddenly from threat of life, such as running away from a tiger in order to survive. Although these dangers don’t exist as much nowadays, we are bombarded with stimulus in modern life which can trigger anxiety, creating a sense of danger.

Anxiety can be mild or more severe and interrupt your life and daily decisions. It can be experienced both psychologically and physiologically. Here are some sympstoms:

obsessive thinking or compulsive behaviour (better known as OCD/Obsessive Compulsive Disorder)
constant worrying and trouble with concentrating
fear of dread, impending doom, or of death
avoiding social situations or made plans
Increased heartrate
trouble with sleeping
sweaty palms or raised body temperature
breathing shallowly and shortness of breath

If you experience some of these symptoms, it may help to take a deeper look at what may be causing anxiety or leading you to live a less fulfilling life.

How can therapy help?:

Therapy can assist in providing knowledge as to why anxiety is being experienced. Getting to the heart of the issue and why it is there develops an understanding of your circumstances.
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy techniques such as exposure therapy. The notion is that the more we expose ourselves to something challenging, the more we can build resilience.
Provide grounding techniques such as breathing exercises or ways of activating your senses to manage your feelings of unease
Challenge your thoughts and how you are perceiving situations that make you anxious.

Simple things you could try to manage anxiety:

Our smart phones and daily lives can be packed with stimulus making it harder to switch off psychologically. It is essential for relaxation that our parasympathetic nervous system is activated, which moves us into a state of rest and digest, allowing for a sense of calm.

Simple methods to promote less anxiety are: