We Are Living In An Anxious World And I Am An Anxious Girl
“Instead of fighting it, I simply let anxiety flow through me”
Have you ever felt like you can’t do all the things you used to do? You aren’t sure why you avoid things that make you uncomfortable like taking a train or walking in a crowded area? I know what that is like. To have weird sensations like overheating, wooziness and feeling like I am going crazy. These lovely sensations became a regular occurrence for me. I didn’t know it was anxiety, I thought there was something wrong with me. I thought I might have eaten something that was bad, or I hadn’t drunk enough water. After years of these occurrences, I started waking up anxious every day and the sensations wouldn’t go away. I was in the middle of exams, I was experiencing health issues and I was having problems at work. Eventually, I was diagnosed with a Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD).
SYMPTOMS
Everyone experiences their own special blend of anxiety but here is a list of symptoms that can occur...
Sweating, heart palpitations, nauseousness, dizziness, headaches, trembling, feeling like you are dissociating from your body, intruding thoughts, tummy upset, body tension, body rash, problems with your sight and more.
WHAT ARE SOME ANXIOUS BEHAVIOURS?
Panicking for no apparent reason
Obsessive thoughts especially leading up to an event
Cancelling plans at the last minute
Feeling like you can’t calm down
Repeatedly avoiding certain situations
Drowning anxious feelings with partying, alcohol, food or other preferred types of damaging behaviours.
WHY THE HELL DOES ANXIETY OCCUR?
There are many theories about what anxiety occurs but here are some reasons I personally believe…
Unresolved childhood issues
Bullying in the workplace
Toxic relationships
Years of avoidant behaviour
Letting go of my safety blankets such as partying and alcohol
Traumatic events
Not knowing who I was or what my values were (or not sticking to them).
Too much stress (I believe University put me over the edge) and
Imbalances in the body e.g. mineral deficiencies, hormone issues, yeast overgrowth and a compromised gut.
WHAT ARE SOME OTHER THEORIES?
THE DIATHESIS–STRESS MODEL
This psychological theory considers how susceptible a person is to vulnerability when it interacts with stress which then produces anxiety. Some people can handle stress more than others because of their genetic or biology. Another people may handle stress well, but they have suffered from repeated stressful events. If you think you are a person that is more vulnerable when stress occurs, it may be beneficial to remove as much stress as possible and to develop some coping strategies.
THE FIGHT-OR-FLIGHT RESPONSE
This theory explains that as humans we have some inbuilt responses to protect us from perceived harm. The fight-or-flight response releases adrenaline into the body to get us ready to either fight or run away from harm. This was useful when we used to come across woolly mammoths and tigers in the wild, however, it is not so useful in modern day society. Today a perceived threat could be as simple as receiving a Facebook request from someone we don't like, or not getting a text back from a friend. This means we are constantly in a state of stress and generalised anxiety can occur.
THE BEHAVIOURAL INHIBITION SYSTEM
This system in our body helps us regulate negative emotions and avoidance behaviours in response to punishment or threat. Each person has an individual sensitivity to this system, so those with a higher sensitivity may perceive stressful events to be more negative and may avoid negative situations more often than someone who has a lower sensitivity.
HOW CAN I EASE ANXIETY?
EXPOSURE THERAPY
A great way to chip away at avoidance behaviours is with exposure therapy. This involves setting a goal that you feel you cannot achieve yet due to anxiety. Then you set smaller goals that lead up to the main goal. As an example, if you had somewhere to drive that was 2 hours away, the first goal would be to drive 10 minutes towards your destination. Then 20 minutes, then 30 minutes and so on and so forth. This can be done with any goal and works well if you work in conjunction with a Psychologist.
RETRAINING YOUR THOUGHTS
Have you ever had the innocent thought "I don't want to go to work!" and then the next day at work you feel anxious. Yup, that is your thoughts playing a role. A great way to tackle this is with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). CBT looks at how thoughts, feelings, and behaviours all interact e.g. having a negative thought about work may lead you to feel anxious at work and then lead you to leave work early that day. You can retrain your thoughts by instead saying "I may not want to go to work but I sure do like getting paid" or "I've felt these anxious feelings before, I'm sure I will feel them again, but I know they can't hurt me."
CALM YOUR NERVES
There are plenty of amazing ways to calm the responses in your body to a perceived threat. Here are some ideas of things you can try...
Try some calming supplements like Passionflower, Kava Kava, St.John Worts, Flower tinctures, Chamomile, Lavender and Valerian
Meditate - set a timer and start with 5 minutes a day
Try different breathing techniques (my favorite is alternative nostril breathing)
Yoga
Writing in a journal
Cuddling a pet
Visiting the ocean and
Having an Epsom salt bath.
While anxiety can be scary, it is important to know that you are not alone. There are plenty of strategies out there and it is key to remember that everything passes even anxious feelings. I would love to hear your experiences and thoughts in the comments below, you have the option to post anonymously if you wish.
Much love,
Shalee xo
P.S remember to chat with your physician before you try any new supplementation
