I’ve always loved Pixar’s Toy Story movies , especially because toys capture so many personality types. Buzz is adventurous, optimistic; Woody is loyal, organized (a little controlling); Jessie is quarrelsome and passionate and Rex, the tyrannosaurus and with whom I relate the most, is sensitive, with a deep aversion to uncertainty . Sometimes I blame my Taurus traits (we are homemakers, we hate change) for this personal tendency, but the truth is that I can’t bear not knowing . A lot of possibilities come to mind , from the slightly inconvenient to the downright catastrophic.
On bad days, I completely disarm myself and call my closest friends (ok, I’m writing to them) in full panic. And it seems that I am not alone.
The anxiety is growing, so much so that the Institute of Evaluation Metrics and Health reported in 2018 that 284 million people worldwide suffer from any of its manifestations: panic disorder , obsessive compulsive disorder, anxiety disorder generalized, social anxiety . This makes it one of the most widespread mental health problems today. Only in the US, according to the North American Anxiety and Depression Association, 18% of the population suffers from anxiety every year, but only 36.9% of them request treatment. Visit https://howdoihomeschool.com/
Anxiety is very similar to fear, only it is fear projected into the future
What is anxiety?
“In a broad sense, anxiety disorder occurs when a person has so much anxiety that it prevents or makes it extremely difficult for them to do the ordinary things they would like to do, ” says Dr. David Carbonell, psychiatrist and author of the bestseller. self-help The worry trap . This manifests itself in a number of ways that can profoundly affect the quality of daily life. It could be avoiding driving in certain circumstances, flying, socializing with groups for fear of uncomfortable encounters; it is essentially when a normal activity causes undue stress and suffering.
You look towards the horizon and the anxiety is the ‘what if’, the uncertainty of what will happen. Constantly asking yourself, ‘Am I okay?’ ”Explains Dr. Ellen Hendriksen, author of How to Be Yourself: Quiet Your Inner Critic and Rise Above Social Anxiety.
What are your triggers?
The main factors that contribute to anxiety remain the same as a few decades ago: difficult relationships, unemployment, loneliness, exposure to trauma, conflict. However, the digital age has added its own problems . Being connected 24 hours a day not only means exposing ourselves to the news (good, bad, catastrophic), it also exposes us to the dangers of data hacking, trolling, and system crashes; the obstacles are infinite. With the digital revolution also comes the reduction of the need for personal interaction and, with the growth of social networks, there is more emphasis on happiness based on metrics such as how many followers or likes you have.
The evolution of technology exacerbates the problem , as it means that we no longer have to leave the house to carry out our day-to-day tasks. Things that used to be perceived as stressful, but also as necessary, before forced us to face situations that we can now avoid without difficulty behind our screens. Why strike up a face-to-face conversation, or even make a call, when you can write?
There are stronger genetic predispositions in some families than in others. I firmly believe that people are simply born with a possibility of developing an anxiety disorder
How do you start to have anxiety? Why have a conversation with a colleague when you can use Slack?
There are multiple factors that can contribute to anxiety, one of them being genetics . Although you can inherit a predisposition to anxiety from your genes, the big changes in your life also act as catalysts – whether it’s finishing school or moving house for the first time, having a baby or any other uncertainty that entails a change. in the circumstances.
“It is, however,” Hendriksen explains, “part of our nature, built into us and largely genetic. It is often triggered by an event , usually a life event, particularly when there is a lot of uncertainty about it or something happens to us, or we are unsure about the outcome ”.
I firmly believe that people are simply born with a possibility of developing an anxiety disorder, and if they fall into this category, they have a stage where it escalates. For panic disorders it is usually somewhere between the ages of 18 and 30. Independence, adulthood; maybe all these positive changes can suddenly become something to deal with. “
Can anxiety be cured?
“People can go into a long period of remission, which could continue for the rest of their lives. The word ‘cure’ is problematic, as it is not really a disease, ” explains Carbonell. Afterwards the obsession will translate into constantly returning to the attitude that I had better check if I am still ‘cured’. That will be the downfall. Another thing about the ‘cure’ is that anxiety is an ordinary part of life, this is just an overloaded version of it. “
“It keeps us safe, it prevents us from diving headfirst into a situation. It forces us to stop and think. It’s our smoke detector. You wouldn’t want to turn it off. “
How can you manage anxiety?
- Be specific
Anxiety is vague, so a good strategy is to focus your thoughts in question format . “You can argue with the ‘and yeses’ if you specify the theoretical situations, specify what is the outcome you fear when your boss calls you at the office and so on. What exactly is the concern? From there it is easier to get out of there by means of logic ”, explains Hendriksen.
The checklist:
Turn the question into a statement . E.g. My boss is not firing me today.
Ask yourself if this has ever happened to you before . E.g. Has my boss ever fired me? What are the odds? Eg few.
Anxiety also comes from the belief that you cannot cope with something. Make a plan for whatever worries you. What are you doing about it? This helps the uncertainty go away.
Specify the outcome you fear so much. E.g. What if my boss fires me today?
two
Turn the question into a statement. E.g. My boss is not firing me today.
Ask yourself if this has ever happened to you before. E.g. Has my boss ever fired me?
What are the odds? Eg few.
2. Exposure therapy
The core of both successful self-management and / or professional anxiety treatment is exposure. “We want it to be permissive. It is important to do it step by step . We don’t want exposure to happen in a way that involves fight or resistance, as that leads to fight or flight reactions, triggering even more stress, ”says Carbonell.
It’s about being able to be out there and continue with it and see that in the end it diminishes ”.
Carbonell emphasizes that dealing with them does not mean stopping doing those things that cause us anxiety, be it driving or making presentations at work. “Basically, every time you avoid it, you delude yourself into believing that it is harmful. The attitude of exposing yourself to a stressful situation can slowly reduce your fear ”.
- Meditation and breathing
Meditation is proven effective when it comes to mental health problems. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore examined 47 trials that addressed the use of meditation to alleviate symptoms of anxiety. They demonstrated the considerable benefit of the use of meditation in calming the anxious and yes that appear in the mind .
“A breathing technique is also a good thing,” Carbonell adds, “because people with panic disorders, in particular, tend to have poor breathing techniques. The chest tenses and that causes many other symptoms, so doing a rhythmic breathing exercise can be a great relief ”.
- Dream
Adequate sleep will keep the adrenals in check, which means less cortisol in the system and fewer incidents of fight or flight responses. Ultimately, it will help you stay calmer if you tend to anxiety, allowing you to develop a greater resilience to the things that can trigger an episode of anxiety.
- Exercise
Learning to exercise in a controlled way can have a great effect. It is all a question of proportion. The best use of exercise to get into a regular routine that helps us is three to five days a week, 30 to 40 minutes. What doesn’t help is ending up with a dependency mentality, thinking that every time I have to do something challenging I can go and exercise vigorously for an hour. It is not a shield, it is better to use it as a daily vitamin due to its effects in general ”.
Are you a hypersensitive person? These are the tips that a psychologist would give you to be happier