

If you just can’t seem to get out from under the pressures of anxiety you are not alone. There are an estimated 30 million Americans who suffer with some type of anxiety disorder each year making anxiety the most common of all the so-called mental disorders. Additionally, statistical research tells us that one out of every four people will suffer from an anxiety disorder at some point over the course of their lifetime.
country, but overall it is the most common mental health disorder worldwide. And even if you don’t have an actual anxiety disorder, you probably are experiencing more anxiety in your life than you would like. Due to the wide range of symptoms involved with anxiety you may not know if you suffer from anxiety or an anxiety disorder. Each person experiences a slightly different combination of these symptoms. And your specific universe of symptoms will determine what kind of anxiety disorder you might have. Signs that anxiety is present may appear in the form of thoughts and beliefs. Other indications of anxiety manifest themselves in bodily sensations. Still other symptoms show up in various kinds of anxious behaviors. Some people experience anxiety signs in all three ways, while others only feel the nervous tension of their anxiety in one or two areas. Anxious Thinking It is difficult to summarize anxious thinking due to the broad range of possibilities. Nevertheless, there are six criteria one or more of which people struggling with anxiety tend to exhibit. Your probably thinking anxiously if you are: * Living in the future and anticipating the worst: When this happens, you think about everything that lies ahead and assume the worst possible outcome. * Requiring others constant approval: Psychologists refer to this as approval addiction. If you fall into this category you tend to obsess about what others think about you. * Always trying to be perfect: If you’re a perfectionist, you assume that any mistake means total and complete failure. * Magnifying negative events: Those who magnify the importance of negative events generally feel more anxious than they should. * Diminished concentration: Anxious people routinely report having trouble concentrating. Short-term memory sometimes suffers as well. * Mental activity becomes a blur: All types of anxiety are based on our genetic survival mechanism known as “fight or flight.” When this occurs our minds pick up the pace which in turn can cause a blur of troubling and worrisome thoughts heightening one’s sense of anxiety. Where does anxiety typically end up in the body? Virtually all people suffering with severe anxiety experience a range of anxiety driven physical effects. These sensations are not a imagined or a figment of one’s imagination; they’re as real as this article you are currently reading. The way each individual responds and subsequently harbors anxiety can vary greatly from person to person and can include: sweating, muscle tension and spasms, elevated heart rate, a spike in blood pressure, general aches and pains, headache, fatigue, dizziness, constipation, and stomach upset. Our abbreviated list of anxiety driven physical symptoms reflect those which are considered to be temporary. As you may already be aware chronic anxiety left untreated can pose serious risks to your health and has been linked to both cardiovascular disease and cancer. Behaving anxiously Avoidance is the cornerstone of which the nervous ninny house of anxiety is built. Anxious people almost always make an effort to stay away from the things that make them anxious. Whether its spiders, crowds, heights, freeways, social gatherings, financial concerns, reminders of bad times, or public speaking, anxious people search for ways to avoid their fears. In the short-term this is an effective strategy. It makes them feel a little better. On the other hand, over the long haul avoidance actually sustains and heightens anxiety. |
