What is Anxiety?

Managing our daily lives in a busy modern society means that from time to time we may all experience feelings of anxiety. At the most basic level, anxiety is our bodies fight or flight mechanism in action, resulting in a heightened awareness and even fear response. Ultimately, it is our bodies way of trying to protect us from a perceived threat. 

There are many rational reasons this may be the case like feeling anxious about a job interview, or an event we’ve committed to attending, perhaps having to present to an audience, or running late for an appointment.

The thing to remember is that anxiety is a completely rational human emotion. It can even go hand in hand with excitement as many of the same physiological changes occur inside our bodies. Imagine getting ready to start a new job, the feeling of excitement paired with the unknown, the feeling of butterflies in the stomach with sweaty palms, and a dry mouth. All perfectly rational and explainable within the context.

However, anxiety becomes problematic when it starts to impact our lives and our decision making.

The NHS says that anxiety "can cause many symptoms" and that it "may affect how you feel physically, mentally and how you behave". So what does this mean in reality?

Sometimes the reason we experience anxiety may appear obvious but other times it can be harder to work out what the underlying cause is. This alone can heighten anxious feelings resulting in a cycle of thoughts and feelings that actually maintain the issue.

Experiencing anxiety with or without an obvious cause in a manner that affects our thoughts and behaviours, can be indicative of an anxiety disorder. 

Anxiety disorders can range from unpleasant through to debilitating, leading to physical, psychological and behavioural impacts. Examples include;

Physical symptoms such as increased heart rate, sweating, shaking, nausea, tingling, or feeling dizzy.

Psychological symptoms can include negative thinking, feeling of dread, catastrophising, difficulty concentrating, or obsessive thoughts.

Behavioural symptoms may include avoiding people or specific situations, self-medicating, ritualistic or compulsive behaviours, and avoidance of responsibilities.

Anxiety and Me. From my own first hand experience, I know that any level of reduced mental wellbeing can have a far reaching impact, it can feel very isolating and often scary. Over many years I had hoped it would just go away, I hoped for miracle cures, invested in internet programmes promising miraculous recovery, and wished to go back to the 'old me'.

So what changed? I decided to stop fighting it, and start accepting it. I took the decision to face my condition head on, learn to understand it, to find out what habits and behaviours were maintaining it, and to make positive changes to move forward with or without anxiety in tow. It was this journey that led to a passion for the Cognitive Behavioural approach, with the integration of mindfulness and the birth of Hope Wellness Therapies.

If you can relate to any of the information within this article I urge you to reach out for a conversation to see how CBT might be able to help you.

Contact Hope Wellness Therapies