Coping With Anxiety

It is normal to panic when something is wrong, but sometimes there is no real danger and this feeling of panic comes over my body. Heart-rate increases and breathing is irregular; tension and sometimes dizziness, fatigue, even nauseous feeling occurs. There is no real threat to detect in my environment. I am not actually about to die in these moments, yet it feels like it.

They say, “It’s all in your head.”

I become irritated nowadays with that phrase. From my personal experience of dealing with anxiety, I have to say otherwise. It is definitely not all in the head. It runs throughout the entire body. It can be felt in the heart, the throat, the stomach… weak knees and shaking hands… that hot flash or cold sweat… it is felt all over the body. These physiological signs of anxiety can even be measured. It is far more than just a scary thought or a little worry. It is a feeling of terror and panic. It can vary in the level of intensity from person to person and across different situations. Sometimes it isn’t too bad, but other times it is crippling.

Every time the anxiety subsides, I wonder why I was experiencing such emotions when nothing threatening was actually going on. Sometimes I laugh at myself for the overreaction to a simple pain I may feel. I have literally convinced myself that something as drastic as a heart complication of the respiratory issue is the source and believe that I may die soon… until it passes and I realized how crazy I sounded when I told my husband with such seriousness

I was very young when anxiety took me over. It progressed over the years and became so severe that it was apparently a call for concern. I didn’t know what anxiety was… couldn't make sense of it. What I did interpret was that something was wrong with me. I felt like I was being punished at times when I was pulled out of class to do testing. I hated being in school and I just wanted to be left alone.

For a long time now, anxiety has determined my decisions for everything I do.

What might go wrong?

I ask myself, as the anxiety elevates. I usually apply outcomes of previous experiences to the potential outcome for the upcoming event.

What level of anxiety might I experience if I do this or go there?

How uncomfortable did I feel at an event similar to this one in the past?

I’ll have to decline if my perceived level of anxiety is predicted to be that of a high level.

The best way to alleviate anxiety was usually to avoid situations that may provoke it. I missed out on so much in life now because of this habit. I have let friendships fade away along with family bonds buried in the sand. I barely attended high school because classrooms made me anxious. I failed high school and I never really worked much in my life. I had a job once for barely over a year and a half in total.

I’ve come a long way since the days of suffering in judgment and lack of knowledge. Now I have learned that there is a genetic predisposition to develop anxiety disorders and my stressful environment as a child activated this trait to be expressed. It isn’t my fault that I have this disorder… well these disorders I should say, as I have a few different ones, include Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. I realize now that I have nothing to be ashamed of. No one’s brain is at one-hundred percent perfection in functional status.

There are ways to cope and ways to modify our responses to symptoms of anxiety disorders. Eating a healthy diet is one way, along with exercise. Maintaining the health of the body influences the health of the brain. Finding the right fruits and vegetables to consume every day, and the right proteins and carbohydrates to keep your body energized is important. Everyone has their own kind of ‘right’ diet to fit them.

In addition to diet, exercise promotes physical fitness and physiological functioning of the body. Stretching and low-impact activities help improve circulation and release tension. For example, yoga is a great activity to practice and it has actually been suggested by research to be effective in reducing anxiety and uplifting mood. I have personally tried Hatha yoga, which emphasizes the physical postures called asanas.

Another way to cope with anxiety is by breathing and meditative techniques. With an anxiety disorder, it is very beneficial to try things to calm the mind. The mind can get loud and drive us crazy… can’t it? I know I experience this chaotic circus more than once. It is nice to slow down sometimes and coax the mind to be quiet.

Yoga is another example that can be used yet again. Not only does it involve a physical component, but yoga tends to really focus on breathing and breath control throughout the sessions, as well as meditative techniques. It is not required to attend a class as it can be practiced at home… even if youtube is needed to learn. It is easy to find some sort of guided video or audio recording to help. Incorporating some sort of meditative practice into daily routines is how to get the best out of meditation. Practice should be regular to see the results.

Lastly, I should mention that staying in one place doesn’t do much good. Avoiding all situations that cause anxiety may cause fewer opportunities for anxiety to be triggered, but it does not mean that anxiety is any less of a problem. I spent years of my life running and hiding from anxiety only to realize that I can never conquer it that way. Setting small goals and taking the time and plans to face situations that may be anxiety-provoking can actually lead to a desensitization of it.

Basically, as humans we are adaptable and we can get used to things over time. Sometimes we have to push ourselves a little and face some uncomfortable feelings in order to lessen the intensity of those negative feelings. Anxiety can be troubling to deal with at times, but there are ways to cope of course. Making healthy choices such as eating the right diet and getting enough exercise in combination with some sort of breathing and meditative practices can really help get things under control.