When Is My Anxiety Harmful
Identifying what sort of anxiety youre dealing with can be somewhat challenging because how ones body reacts to perceived danger can be entirely different compared to another person.
Its likely you heard anxiety as a blanket term for that general feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease. Its often a feeling grown in response to an upcoming event that has an uncertain outcome.
Every person deals with it at one time or another, because its part of our brains response to a perceived danger even if that danger isnt real.
That said, there are times anxiety can get serious and turn into anxiety attacks that initially feel manageable and then gradually build up over a few hours.
The Anxiety Is Not Realty
It is important to know that anxiety is not reality. When you fear about something which will happen, you need to calm down and tell yourself that Stop worrying because nothing worse will happen to you. For example, when you have the ringing phone at 3 a.m, it makes you feel anxious and panic. Some patients with frequent panic may interpret the panic that it could mean someone in their family have trouble, someone is dread or your children are in the emergency room. In fact, it could also mean somebody calls a wrong number, a prank call or your friend who is abroad got his mixed up time zones. Until you get this phone call, it is still the product of your interpretation. So why do not you stop thinking seriously and pick up your phone? It is the same as anxiety or panic. Instead of thinking that I am dying or I am going crazy, why do not you interpret that anxiety is not something dangerous. It is just anxiety which you have faced before and can fight it against.
How People Get Tricked
People’s natural instincts to protect themselves are what lead them to get tricked. See if you recognize your responses in these examples below.
A person with Panic Disorder gets tricked into holding her breath and fleeing the store , rather than shifting to Belly Breathing. and staying there until the feelings pass.
A person with Generalized Anxiety Disorder gets tricked into trying to stop the unwanted “what if?” thoughts, rather than accepting them and taking care of present business as thoughts come and go.
A person with Social Phobia gets tricked into avoiding the party, or hiding in the corner if he attends, rather than say hello to a stranger and see what happens.
A person with OCD gets tricked into repeatedly washing his hands, or returning home to check the stove, rather than accepting the intrusive thoughts of contamination and fire and returning his energies to the present activities at hand.
A person with a dog phobia gets tricked into avoiding the feelings by avoiding all dogs, rather than spending time with a dog until the feelings pass.
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How To Reduce Your Anxiety Attacks
Anxiety is a normal part of life, but it can become an overwhelming problem for some people. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, an estimated 31.1% of all U.S. adults will experience an anxiety disorder at some point in their lives.
A little bit of anxiety can actually be a good thing at times it helps keep us safe and out of trouble .
Unfortunately, there are millions of people living with excessive and difficult anxiety symptoms all of the time. Its as though their idle is set too high and they are frequently plagued by fear, panic, and self-doubt, which can cause people to feel nervous and to engage in thoughts and behaviors that can affect their lives and health.
Symptoms of excessive anxiety can include:
- Predicting the worst outcome in situations
- Avoiding risk and conflict
- Experiencing panic attacks
In studying the brains of anxious subjects, researchers discovered that certain areas of the brain are overactive compared to the brains of those without anxiety. One such area is called the basal ganglia, a set of large structures near the center of the brain that are involved with the integration of thought, feeling, and movement as well as motivation and pleasure.
Close Your Eyes And Breathe
Whenever you find yourself having a panic attack, take a moment to lie down, close your eyes, and take a deep breath in. Then out. In. Then Out. In. Out. Breathing deep naturally helps slow your heart rate to help you calm your anxiety. Taking the time to focus on your breath helps move your mind into the present inside of the past or future. Find time each day to get that quiet moment to yourself just to breathe. The more you practice mindful breathing, the fewer panic attacks youll have.
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Why Wont My Fear Go Away And Leave Me Feeling Normal Again
Fear may be a one-off feeling when you are faced with something unfamiliar.
But it can also be an everyday, long-lasting problem even if you cant put your finger on why. Some people feel a constant sense of anxiety all the time, without any particular trigger.
There are plenty of triggers for fear in everyday life, and you cant always work out exactly why you are frightened or how likely you are to be harmed. Even if you can see how out of proportion a fear is, the emotional part of your brain keeps sending danger signals to your body.
Sometimes you need mental and physical ways of tackling fear.
A Few Final Words About Anxiety
Anxiety impacts people in different ways and can be triggered by different things too, both past and present experiences. Fortunately, help is available to help people understand and manage their anxiety the biggest hurdle is recognising it in the first place.
Now that youve read this article, we hope its answered any initial queries you may have had about anxiety and that youve found it a useful starting point for dealing with anxiety. For more practical advice for dealing with anxiety, read ‘8 ways to be kind to yourself‘.
The advice in this article is for information only and should not replace medical care. Please check with your GP or healthcare professional before trying any supplements, treatments or remedies. Food supplements must not be used as a substitute for a varied and balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle.
23 August 2021
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Focus On Your Safe Place
Having a safe place where you can run to mentally when you are stressed can help you calm down. A safe place can be something real in your life that makes you happy or something imaginary. You can visit a professional to help you create a safe place. You can also use your bed as a safe place where you go to every night and pretend that everything that makes you anxious cant reach you there.
Engage In Light Exercise
Endorphins keep the blood pumping in exactly the right away. It can help flood our body with endorphins, which can improve our mood. Because youre stressed, choose light exercise thats gentle on the body, like walking or swimming.
The exception to this is if youre hyperventilating or struggling to breathe. Do what you can to catch your breath first.
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What Makes A Person Overcome Their Anxiety Naturally
They started with a small amount of will-power, that was fueled by wanting more for their lives. They built up confidence within them, ended their mental, emotional and physical fatigue, and never looked back. The power of goal setting is no joke, ESPECIALLY when it comes to ending severe anxiety naturally.
How Can I Help Myself
Face your fear if you can
If you always avoid situations that scare you, you might stop doing things you want or need to do. You wont be able to test out whether the situation is always as bad as you expect, so you miss the chance to work out how to manage your fears and reduce your anxiety. Anxiety problems tend to increase if you get into this pattern. Exposing yourself to your fears can be an effective way of overcoming this anxiety.
Know yourself
Try to learn more about your fear or anxiety. Keep an anxiety diary or thought record to note down when it happens and what happens. You can try setting yourself small, achievable goals for facing your fears. You could carry with you a list of things that help at times when you are likely to be become frightened or anxious. This can be an effective way of addressing the underlying beliefs that are behind your anxiety.
Try to learn more about your fear or anxiety. Keep a record of when it happens and what happens.
Exercise
Increase the amount of exercise you do. Exercise requires some concentration, and this can take your mind off your fear and anxiety.
Relax
Learning relaxation techniques can help you with the mental and physical feelings of fear. It can help just to drop your shoulders and breathe deeply. Or imagine yourself in a relaxing place. You could also try learning things like yoga, meditation, massage, or listen to the Mental Health Foundations wellbeing podcasts.
Healthy eating
Avoid alcohol, or drink in moderation
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How To Sleep Better If You Have Anxiety
Getting enough shut-eye every night is vital for both our physical and mental health. When we sleep, our bodies perform a variety of functions, from repairing damaged cells to strengthening our immune systems.17
Sleep is also crucial for our brain as its when it processes all the information weve soaked up during the day and consolidates it into long term memories.18
If you dont get enough sleep every night, youll likely feel lethargic the following day, much more irritable and probably have poorer concentration levels. These can all have a big impact on your everyday life and may make any anxiety youre experiencing seem much worse.
Panic Attacks And Panic Disorder
Panic disorder is characterized by repeated, unexpected panic attacks, as well as fear of experiencing another episode. Agoraphobia, the fear of being somewhere where escape or help would be difficult in the event of a panic attack, may also accompany a panic disorder. If you have agoraphobia, you are likely to avoid public places such as shopping malls, or confined spaces such as an airplane.
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Causes And Risk Factors
Anxiety is a normal response to stress or a dangerous situation and its often referred to as the fight or flight response. Its also the most prevalent mental health condition. Anxiety becomes problematic when it is constant or in reaction to inappropriate circumstances, which over time can negatively affect your day-to-day life. In fact, there are a number of anxiety disorders, including generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, social anxiety disorder and panic disorder.
Causes of anxiety include:
- inability to socialize
Are Anxiety Supplements Safe For Everyone
While these supplements are generally safe, there are some groups that may be at higher risk for side-effects or other concerns:
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Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding: It is best to avoid these supplements since we do not have enough safety studies for these critical periods of early development.
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Infants and young children: They should only take supplements under the supervision of a licensed medical professional.
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Those on prescription medications: Before starting any supplements, consult with your doctor to make sure that there are no harmful interactions.
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Those with chronic medical conditions: For conditions that affect liver and kidney function, consult with your doctor before starting any supplements.
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Herbal Therapies For Anxiety
Of course, when most people think of natural anxiety treatments, they think of herbal medicine, because herbal medicine is considered a natural way to “treat” different disorders. The good news is that there are many different herbal medicines for anxiety. However, always talk to your doctor before taking any type of herbal medicine, as some of them may interact with other medications. Never take herbal supplements with alcohol. The most common types of herbs for anxiety include:
Tell Yourself Youre Just Processing Information
When youre suffering from PTSD, panic attacks are so often you cant tell when youre actually having one. Youre in a constant state of fight or flight for months on end. Youre too scared to fall asleep and terrified while being awake. Eventually, when you do finally fall asleep, you wake up from nightmares that scare you awake. Sometimes they come as often as every ten minutes.
A social worker once told me that nightmares are the brains way of processing information. The best way to combat them is to say processing information every time you wake up from one. This little trick has helped desensitize nightmares over the long-term so you feel less panicked after waking up from one.
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Exercise And Move Your Body
Right along side dietary intake is exercise. Allowing your body to stretch and exercise routinely again gives an increased level of confidence and aids in prevention of other chronic illnesses that may present themselves later in life. Exercising as little a 30 minutes a day, 3 to 5 times a week can greatly improve a patients attitude and physical well-being.
Try Muscle Relaxation Techniques
Another symptom of panic attacks is muscle tension. Practicing muscle relaxation techniques may help limit an attack. This is because if the mind senses that the body is relaxing, other symptoms such as rapid breathing may also diminish.
A technique called progressive muscle relaxation is a popular method for coping with anxiety and panic attacks.
This involves tensing up and then relaxing various muscles in turn. To do this:
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Biological Systems Involved In Anxiety
Due to the complex biology of anxiety, its unsurprising that SSRI medications like Zoloft or Lexapro, which only target one of these systems , are ineffective for 30-40% of patients. Benzodiazepines like Klonopin or Ativan may work for more people, but their adverse effects can include memory problems, dependence, and addiction.
On the other hand, natural herbs and supplements for anxiety can address multiple systems at once without potential for dependence and addiction.
See Our Other ‘how To’ Guides
Fear is one of the most powerful emotions. It has a very strong effect on your mind and body.
Fear can create strong signals of response when were in emergencies for instance, if we are caught in a fire or are being attacked.
It can also take effect when youre faced with non-dangerous events, like exams, public speaking, a new job, a date, or even a party. Its a natural response to a threat that can be either perceived or real.
Anxiety is a word we use for some types of fear that are usually to do with the thought of a threat or something going wrong in the future, rather than right now.
Fear and anxiety can last for a short time and then pass, but they can also last much longer and you can get stuck with them. In some cases they can take over your life, affecting your ability to eat, sleep, concentrate, travel, enjoy life, or even leave the house or go to work or school. This can hold you back from doing things you want or need to do, and it also affects your health.
Some people become overwhelmed by fear and want to avoid situations that might make them frightened or anxious. It can be hard to break this cycle, but there are lots of ways to do it. You can learn to feel less fearful and to cope with fear so that it doesnt stop you from living.
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