Anxiety
We all get anxious from time to time, if we have something we do not want to do or going into the unknown, the butterflies in the stomach at an interview or the fear of opening the exam paper. Anxiety was designed to show us when there is something to be aware of that be a risk, it is almost an early warning system for us. Some anxiety is good for us it makes more aware and alert heightening our senses and making us perform better.
Our early warning system releases adrenalin, making our heart beat faster, we need to cool down more, our n mouth dry up and everything around us becomes intensified - when we are scared every noise seems to be louder. All this ready to make us be able to fight or flee from danger. But what if there is nothing to flee from? Its takes ages for us to recover from the adrenalin burst and we remain 'wound up' for ages. If your adrenalin stays constantly up life can be unbearably intense, we can get panic attacks and feel like we are going mad.
We can stuck being anxious all the time i f we are relating our present to issues in the past, if we are natural worriers who can not get out of the habit and if we have to remain in control of everything. There are many forms of anxiety and it can be debilitating, bringing on OCD, IBS, self-harm and agoraphobia.
There are some simple things you can do to alleviate anxiety but you may need professional help from you GP or counsellor.
Keep a diary of your anxiety for a month or so, note the intensity, where, when and who. Review it, to spot patterns, is there a place or an event that triggers you, are there something’s you avoid to lower your anxiety or are there certain people who bring on anxiety.
Check out your stress levels, are you overworked and exhausted, can you change this? If not why not, maybe you need to tackle these issues too? Do you have enough time to relax, time for yourself and are you keeping healthy (food, sleep and exercise). All of these can make you anxious about coping with life.
Learn to relax via meditation, massage, yoga, learn to release your tension and see if you can practice mindfulness.
Change your thought pattern, try to stop the panic based thoughts by controlled breathing or change your behaviour, try not to avoid things that make you anxious by spending more time with them and increase this over time.
Look for a good hypnotherapist, CBT or NLP practitioner to gain some coping techniques, or find a counsellor who gets to the real root of your issues.
Hope this helps and check out our site for counsellors and agony aunts who can help.
