Disclaimer: It is important to seek support early if you or a friend is experiencing difficulties with anxiety. Your symptoms may not go away on their own and if left untreated, they can get worse. Please seek support from your mental health provider, doctor or clinic nearby .
What is Anxiety?
Socially, mentally, and spiritually, we face a variety of pressures and stressors each day.
Anxiety is a name for the emotions and body feelings that we experience when we perceive a threat or danger. It can present in different forms such as feelings of fear, nervousness, apprehensiveness, or worry.
Everybody gets anxious at times and some anxiety actually helps us to function well, but anxiety can become a problem when:
- It happens too often. - It goes on for a long time. - It stops us from doing things that we want to do.
Anxiety doesn’t define who you are. When you focus on it, you give it power. You can’t ignore it, but you can stop affirming it by choosing your words carefully. Here are some affirmations that you can use for your anxiety:
This is only temporary
I am in control
I can take things one step at a time
I have made it through before and I’ll make it through again
Teach yourself that it is okay to have anxiety. It is okay to feel anxious sometimes, but don’t let your anxiety have power over you.
Types of Anxiety Disorders:
Often people who experience anxiety, experience more than one type of anxiety condition and sometimes they may experience depression as well.
There are different types of anxiety conditions.
The most common are:
Generalised Anxiety Disorder: A person feels anxious on most days, worrying about lots of different things, for a period of six months or more.
Social Anxiety: A person has an intense fear of being criticised, embarrassed or humiliated, even in everyday situations, such as speaking publicly, eating in public, being assertive at work or making small talk.
Specific Phobias: A person feels very fearful about a particular object or situation and may go to great lengths to avoid it, for example, having an injection or travelling on a plane. There are many different types of phobias.
Panic Disorder: A person has panic attacks, which are intense, overwhelming and often uncontrollable feelings of anxiety combined with a range of physical symptoms. Someone having a panic attack may experience shortness of breath, chest pain, dizziness and excessive perspiration. Sometimes, people experiencing a panic attack think they are having a heart attack or are about to die. If a person has recurrent panic attacks or persistently fears having one for more than a month, they're said to have panic disorder.
What causes anxiety?
An anxiety condition isn't developed or caused by a single factor but a combination of things. Several factors play a role, including personality factors, difficult life experiences and physical health.
1 - Family history of mental health conditions
Some people who experience anxiety conditions may have a genetic predisposition towards anxiety and these conditions can sometimes run in a family. However, having a parent or close relative experience anxiety or other mental health condition doesn't mean you'll automatically develop anxiety.
2 - Personality factors
Research suggests that people with certain personality traits are more likely to have anxiety. For example, children who are perfectionists, easily flustered, timid, inhibited, lack self-esteem or want to control everything, sometimes develop anxiety during childhood, adolescence or as adults.
3 - Ongoing stressful events
Anxiety conditions may develop because of one or more stressful life events. For example:
Work stress or job change
Change in living arrangements
Pregnancy and giving birth
Family and relationship problems
Major emotional shock following a stressful or traumatic event
Verbal, sexual, physical or emotional abuse or trauma
Death or loss of a loved one.
4 - Physical health problems
Chronic physical illness can also contribute to anxiety conditions or impact on the treatment of either the anxiety or the physical illness itself. Common chronic conditions associated with anxiety conditions include:
Diabetes
Asthma
Hypertension and heart disease
Some physical conditions can mimic anxiety conditions, like an overactive thyroid. It can be useful to see a doctor and be assessed to determine whether there may be a medical cause for your feelings of anxiety.
5 - Other mental health conditions
While some people may experience an anxiety condition on its own, others may experience multiple anxiety conditions, or other mental health conditions. Depression and anxiety conditions often occur together. It's important to check for and get assistance for all these conditions at the same time.
6 - Substance use
Some people who experience anxiety may use alcohol or other drugs to help them manage their condition. In some cases, this may lead to people developing a substance use problem along with their anxiety condition. Alcohol and substance use can aggravate anxiety conditions particularly as the effects of the substance wear off. It's important to check for and get assistance for any substance use conditions at the same time.
Remember ...
Everyone’s different and it's often a combination of factors that can contribute to developing an anxiety condition. It's important to remember that you can't always identify the cause of anxiety or change difficult circumstances. The most important thing is to recognise the signs and symptoms and seek advice and support.
Signs, Symptoms, Triggers
There are different symptoms of anxiety - some include:
Nail Biting
Constant Worrying
Stomach Issues
Panic Attacks
Overthinking
Pulling out hair/ Skin Picking
Insomnia
Restlessness or feeling keyed up or on edge
Easily fatigued
Difficulty concentrating or mind going blank
Irritability
Muscle tension
Sleep disturbance
Exaggerated startle response
Physical symptoms: Shortness of breath, rapid heartbeat, excessive sweating, shortness of breath, chest pain
The anxiety, worry, or physical symptoms cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other areas of functioning
Anxiety can be caused by a number of things. Some people experience it for no reason while others are triggered by certain events: tests, being on stage or being around other people.
Anxiety Attacks
Your heart suddenly starts pounding, you can’t breathe properly, and you feel like you’re going to die. It’s come from nowhere – no symptoms and no obvious triggers – and it’s very scary. Anxiety attacks can be terrifying but they’re not life-threatening and they can be managed.
Many people have one or two panic attacks like this in their lifetimes. But some people experience this again and again, and live in constant fear of when the next one will strike. A panic attack is different from anxiety in its cause and intensity. You feel like you’re losing control – there’s an intense fear when there’s no real danger – and the physical reactions to this fear can make you feel like you are having a heart attack.
They make no sense - they can occur when you’re relaxed or even asleep.
Anxiety describes a number of disorders that usually bring about feelings of fear, nervousness and worry. A panic attack, on the other hand, is sudden and can be very extreme.
Signs and symptoms of an Anxiety Attack
Anxiety attacks follow a period of excessive worry and may become more distinct over time. They are typically less intense than those of panic attacks and include:
Feeling nervous, tense or restless
Having a sense of impending danger, panic or doom
Having an increased heart rate
Breathing rapidly
Sweating
Trembling
Feeling weak or tired.
Self-help during a panic attack:
Take control – try not to let your fear overwhelm you. Do this by acknowledging what is happening and reassure yourself that the symptoms will soon pass, and your anxiety will drop.
Breathe slowly and deeply – problems with your breathing during an attack are common. Try to slow your breathing down by focusing on your breath. Close your eyes and inhale and exhale as slowly and steadily as possible. Breathe deeply so that your lower belly expands when you’re breathing in. It might help to count as you breathe in and out.
Relax your muscles – this may not be easy, but anxiety causes your body to tense up so try to make a conscious effort to relax each muscle in your body, focusing on one at a time. Pull your shoulders up to your ears, squeeze them together then push them down slowly.
Self-Help
There are a range of strategies you can try to manage your anxiety. What works for one person might not work for someone else, and it can take time to find the strategies that work best for you.
- Identify unhealthy coping mechanisms - Take deep breaths - Be physically active (take a walk) - Think positive thoughts - Start a hobby - Develop a stress relief strategy - Self-care - Keep hydrated - Get enough sleep
But remember, if your anxiety is proving difficult to manage seek support from a professional.
References
Matjebele, Palesa. (2019) 4 ways to manage anxiety attacks. W24. Assessed online at http://www.sadag.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3062:4-ways-to-manage-anxiety-attacks&catid=78&Itemid=161
Beyond Blue. Assessed on 12 May 2020. https://www.beyondblue.org.au/the-facts/anxiety/what-causes-anxiety
American Psychiatric Association, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, American Psychiatric Publishing, Washington, D.C., 2013: Pages 222-226.
National Institute of Mental Health, “Any anxiety disorder among adults,” retrieved from https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/prevalence/any-anxiety-disorder-among-adults.shtml.
Hurley, Katie (2019) Stress vs Anxiety: How to Tell the Difference. Psycom. Assessed on 12 May 2020 from https://www.psycom.net/stress-vs-anxiety-difference