Anxiety is a perfectly normal and natural part of being a human.
How do you cope when it takes hold?
Millions more go undiagnosed.
On the other hand, anxiety itself is a natural human response that serves a purpose.
Our goal shouldnt be to dismiss it entirelyjust to make it a healthy, manageable part of our lives.
Biologically, its meant to put us in a heightened sense of awareness so were prepared for potential threats.
On its face, anxiety can look like stress; but the reality isnt so simple.
Anxiety can arise as a result of stress, but stress can manifest in other ways.
Before your body feels the effects however, your brain is already at work.
hippocampus
is the part of the brain that encodes threatening events into memories.
The feeling of anxiety is part of your bodys stress response.
Your fight or flight response is triggered, and your system is flooded withnorephinephrineandcortisol.
Both are designed to give you a boost to perception, reflexes, and speed in dangerous situations.
Your body turns its full attention to survival.
Ideally, it all shuts down when the threat passes and your body goes back to normal.
According to Dr. DeGroat, there are a number of psychological theories as to why anxiety exists.
Essentially, anxiety is a warning sign that youre about to do something you may not want to.
In behavioral theory, anxiety is a learned response due to exposure to frightening or stressful situations.
Your bodys stress response is something designed to be engaged when needed, and then disengaged.
But constant anxiety keeps us alert and on edge all the time.
Persistent anxiety is a problem.
Are you pessimistic about the most innocuous situations to the point where it keeps you from taking risks?
Do you find your mind racing to what possible negative outcomes there could be?
If your answer is yes to these questions, then you may suffer from persistent anxiety.
For some people, anxiety is situational.
Its normal to feel nervous at the prospect of having to speak in public.
Its not normal to feel anxiety about having a mundane conversation with your barista.
Situational anxiety is one of those things that we can only overcome by confronting it.
It starts with recognizing the effects of anxiety, then learning the right ways to cope.
Here are a few.
Breathe in for four seconds, then out for six.
Count in your head, and focus on your counting and the sensation of your breathing.
Repeat as long as it takes to relax a bit.
DeGroat suggests visualization as a relaxation technique (he also suggests this asa coping mechanism for stress).
Wherever you think you would be most relaxed, stop and mentally put yourself there.
Is it quiet, or can you hear the ocean?
you might get a similar benefit from music, exercise or meditation.
their bodys limbic response to a potential threat).
Many times we find that there is a pattern to these thoughts.
Anything from the time of day to particular individuals can be a trigger.
Does your boss calling you into her office make her nervous?
Then recognize this and begin to challenge the thoughts that are making you anxious.
In other words, the negative thought train should slow down and not end up taking you to Panic-ville.
Gil also suggests that you not rule out medication for anxiety.
Coupled with talk therapy (often with a properly-trained therapist), medication is very effective at managing anxiety.
If youre struggling with it, your goal shouldnt be to just make it go away, thats unrealistic.
You cant just will anxiety awayif you could, no one would have to deal with it.
Anxiety is a normal and necessary emotion that is there to protect us.
The key is to identify unnecessary anxiety.
Unnecessary anxiety can be managed with preventative measure (i.e.
exercise and meditation) and by challenging the veracity of the anxiety-provoking thoughts (like CBT does).
Some of the tips weve mentioned will hopefully help.
People who are experiencing anxiety may avoid socializing because of their overwhelming worries, leading to feelings of loneliness.
It can also often be coupled with depression or other conditions.
With the right attention, learning to cope with and minimize unnecessary anxiety is something we can all do.
More on mental health and online therapy from G/O Medias partner.
