ANXIETY
AND WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT MANAGING IT
ONE TO ONE AND
ONLINE SESSIONS
Part
of Life Transitions from Steven Warren.
We
may be going through a powerful and all important life transition.
We
may dealing with either a physical of emotional issue.
Understanding
Anxiety
Anxiety
Symptoms and Signs
Types
of Anxiety
General
Anxiety
Panic
Disorder
Obsessive
Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Phobias
Social
Anxiety Disorder
Post-Traumatic
Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Anxiety
Treatments
Frequently
Asked Questions
Overview
Before
I discuss how I work with people let us take a clear look at what
anger, anxiety and resulting stress reactions are and how they
operate in our day to day life.
Anxiety
in the form of adrenaline surging around our body making our muscles
and senses heightened and aware is a natural normal and healthy
reaction.
The
'fight
(ANGER)
or
flight (ANXIETY)
response'
was
designed to protect us by preparing us to either flee or fight
for our lives thousands of years ago and so it is now but for
different reasons.
By
following
this link you can learn more about the FIGHT (ANGER) response
in more detail.
The
human brain processes hundreds of small pieces of information
per second and much of this is dealt with by our unconscious mind.
What may be viewed as important will flash into our conscious
mind so that we enter this heightened awareness. At this time
hormones such as adrenaline increase which results in our heart
beating faster so that blood reaches parts of our body faster
to prepare the body to either run away from an attacker or fight
the attacker. .
We
breath faster to provide extra oxygen to release more energy and
we sweat to prevent our body overheating. Often the mouth feels
dry as the digestive system slows down to allow more blood to
reach the arm and leg muscles and our senses become heightened
as the brain becomes more alert to process all important information
about both the situation we face and the environment around us.
Once
this protection response against perceived danger drops down to
a normal level as we see the danger has passed other hormones
are released in our body to relax us down but the tense prepared
muscles may cause us to shake a little as the muscles begin to
relax.
Such
tension and heightened awareness my result as we prepare to sit
an important exam, prepare for an interview of begin a new job
or career.
This
Anticipatory
anxiety as
we mentally prepare can affect our sleep, our appetite and ability
to concentrate. However, once we begin the exam, attend the interview
or begin our new job then such natural anxiety will disappear.
Your
First Steps
Naturally
many many people are attracted to what we call 'self medication'
in the form of alcohol. However attempt to limit how much you
drink given for many people in large measure this affects the
way we process information around us and can actually aggravate
anxiety and trigger panic attacks.
Sleep
is important and so make sure that when stressed you give your
body additional sleep and rest.
As
I work with my clients one of our primary goals is helping to
accept that you cannot control everything and so put your stress
in perspective - step back for a few moments and examine if it
is really as bad as you think?
Severe
Anxiety
This
results when anxiety levels have stayed operating in our mind
and body for a long period of time which creates a circle which
results in anxiety distorting how we see the world. The outcome
is difficulty in dealing with every day life given the feelings
of anxiety have been around for so long that you feel powerless,
out of control and sometimes are left feeling that you are so
out of control that you are going mad. Sometimes if these feelings
reach a point where you are in state of thinking you are overwhelmed
by them then this may result in a panic attack. . . .
What
is a panic attack?
A
panic attack happens when your body over reacts to your body's
normal response to either fear, to stress or to excitement. The
normal levels of anticipatory anxiety have built up over time
to a level where an extreme reaction can result in a pounding
heartbeat, feeling faint, excessive sweating, nausea, sometimes
chest pains along with discomfort in the normal breathing pattern
along with a sense of losing control and often shaking limbs and
a feeling that our legs are turning to jelly.
Once
again in my career working with people with severe anxiety the
person often reports thoughts such as they are going mad or that
they are going to black out or are having a heart attack. Naturally
such powerful threatening thoughts add to the anxiety.
Panic
attacks often happen very quickly with symptoms I have outlined
above peaking within about ten minutes Most panic attacks last
between 5 to 20 minutes. Some people I have worked with experienced
one or two of such panic attacks and then never experienced another
whereas some people had such attacks once a month or several times
a week with many people reporting how these panic attacks appeared
often to happen without warning.
In
a small number of cases such panic attacks happened whilst the
person was a sleep. These nighttime attacks are a result when
your brain is on high alert due to long term anxiety and even
though you are sleeping a part of your brain detects tension changes
which is seen as danger resulting in suddenly waking in your sleep.
Such an attack can be frightening as suddenly waking from a dream
state leaves you both confused and feeling very exposed. . . .
Why
are you feeling so anxious?
Often
this anxiety may relate to either
- your personality, your current life circumstances,
-
your current or past childhood experiences
or,
as my clinical experience over the last 35 years has shown me
a combination of these factors.
Now
lets look at some of these KEYS which may create such a reaction.
Your
Past Experiences
If
an event or series of events which created anxiety in your past
where you were unable to deal with the associated emotions related
to such anxiety then it is natural for you to feel anxious in
terms of facing similar situations in the future in case they
link and create the same feelings as before of distress.
One
example for a client of mine, Mary, was how feeling anxious was
a powerful part of her early life because her parents always saw
and related to the world as a hostile and therefore dangerous
place to live in. Naturally, Mary has spent her life thinking
and feeling the same as her mother and father.
Some
theories from psychology suggest that Mary effectively inherited
a tendency to be more anxious and that during her early informatative
development period in her this powerful element from her childhood
became a part of her personality.
As
Mary and I worked together and she grew to feel more comfortable
and accepting of me and the ideas we were exploring she consciously
and then emotionally began to see how her anxiety related to the
'small child' within her and so embraced the fact that she was
now a grown adult who had power of her life and the decisions
she could make.
Physical
Everyday Habits
From
coffee, poor diet, physical and / or mental exhaustion to self
medication using alcohol or drugs or having a stress based lifestyle
then all of these habits both mimic and trigger symptoms of anxiety.
We look at these factors in our work together and here is more
detail which you can read about here on my website.
Your
Fear of Losing Control in Your Life
Many
people, and this is a growing number in our current society, are
worrying about the future. In my professional experience when
people do not feel in control of important aspects of their life
such as money, relationships, career then this anxiety shifts
and becomes a form of free
floating anxiety naturally
leading the person to start worrying about events which are beyond
their control such as global warming, of being attacked, developing
cancer or having a heart attack or losing their job.
Obviously
after a while we start to fear the symptoms of anxiety themselves
especially because the anxiety leaves us feeling out of control
and so this results in a powerful vicious circle. Such a circle
starts with feeling anxious because we dread feeling the symptoms
of anxiety and the impact it has on our day to day life and ability
to function which immediately results in actually experiencing
these powerful and unwanted symptoms of anxiety which began by
having anxious thoughts.
As
a result of my clinical experience I focus on the related areas
which result from stress in our lives and below you can see a
clear diagramme of the issues which can be worked on in one to
one sessions.
Summary
of Anxiety Symptoms and Signs
You
may notice the following symptoms and signs in yourself or in
others:
Poor
memory, focus, and concentration -
You are finding it harder and harder to
focus on tasks that need to be done. You struggle to recall information
on the spot, if at all. Your concentration is significantly impacted,
where you find it difficult to concentrate on a particular task
or item that needs to be done. You are easily distracted and on
edge.
Tension,
irritability, and worry
- You notice muscle tension and all over body aches and pains.
You are more easily irritated with people and situations, often
"snapping" at people. You worry often, and struggle
to turn the intrusive and negative thoughts off.
Feeling
a loss of control and nervousness
-
You feel as if you have no control over your life, and that something
bad happening is inevitable. You feel nervous to leave the house,
go to social events or work, and you may even struggle to relax
and sleep at night.
Rapid
heartbeat, trouble breathing, and dizziness
- You become so anxious that your heart rate and blood pressure
increase. You start to breathe rapidly, or have trouble breathing.
All of these factors can lead to making you feel dizzy which is
a common anxiety symptom.
Sweating
-
You become so nervous, that you actually begin to sweat. This
is often a side effect from rapid heart rate, fast breathing,
and shaking.
Shaking
hands and body -
You start to shake uncontrollably. You notice tremors in your
hands, and have trouble making this stop. This is due to increased
adrenaline, and the bodys reaction to fear and stress.
Increased
fatigue with associated sleep issues
-
Too much sleep, too little sleep, trouble falling asleep, trouble
staying asleep, tossing and turning all night, and daytime drowsiness.
The most common issue is not being able to turn your thoughts
off at night, and being afraid to fall asleep.
Fearing
the worst
-
This is an overall impending sense of doom, and that something
will go wrong. It is also catastrophizing, where you fear the
worst possible case scenario.
Restlessness
-
You have trouble relaxing. You cant turn your body or your
mind off. Your mind is racing and fearing the worst, and your
body cannot settle down and get comfortable as it fears it will
need to flee or move.
Physical
aches and pains
-
An overall feeling of aches and pains, and a general feeling of
not being well. Anxiety can manifest physically in this way due
to constant muscle tension and an inability to relax.
Headaches
and migraines
- You may or may not have had a history of migraines and headaches.
Whatever the case, they are now more frequent, and are typically
more intense in nature. These are often rooted in the constant
tension you are experiencing in your body.
Nausea
and/or vomiting
-
Individuals can become so anxious that they become nauseous from
the stressful thoughts and physical reactions to the body. Our
thoughts have a strong impact on our body. Some people will become
so anxious, and so nauseous, that they end up vomiting.
Types
of Anxiety
General
Anxeity
Where
people feel anxious most of the time, many without knowing the
root cause. Here people ahve more physical than emotional symptoms.
Panic
Disorder
This
includes panic attacks, and fear of having one. It often becomes
a cycle of panic and being in a constant anxious state based on
the fear of another panic attack. Fears of having a heart attack
or increasing agrophobia which is a fear of public places and
being somewhere where you can't escape.
Obsessive
Comulsive Disorder (OCD)
This
is based on intrusive thoughts and patterns where the person feels
unable to stop such thoughts and actions. It is a constant worry
and fear that something bad will happen if the person doesn't
repeat certain behaviours or take part in compulsive thinking
of action.
Phobias
This
is a ear of objects, people, actities, places or specific situations.
People will go to great lengths to avoid thier phobias which leads
to make the phobias even stonger.
Social
Anxiety Disorder
This
is a belief that no one likes you, or no one will like you at
work or in social situations. Some people think of this as shyness,
but do not understand what is going on in the person's mind. Performance
related anxiety is also included in this category.
Post-traumatic
Stress Disorder (PTSD)
This
is the type of anxiety that an individual has after they witness
or experience a traummatic event. This typically has the additional
anxiety symptoms of nightmares, flashbacks, hypervigilance, isolation,
and avoiding situations that remind the person of the event.
Anxeity
Treatments
Learn
to challenge and change negative thinking by understanding anxiety.
- Write
down what worries you
- Set
a daily timeframe where you are allowed to worry.
- Work
to accept what you have control over
Focus
on what you have control over, and let go of what you don't
Focus
on the present, not the future
- Anxiety
is often defined as those who worry too much about the future
- Learning
to live in the present can reduce anxiety
Learn
relaxation techniques such as:
-
Deep breathing
- Progressive
muscualr relaxation
- Meditation
- Guided
imagery
Utilize
physical, emotional, mental and soothing "grounding"
techniques
- In
our work together I can provide a long list of grounding techniques
which can help you distract yourself and break up intrusive
throughts
- You
can do these anywhere, anytime and no one will know
Develop
healthy eating and exercise habits
-
When we are physically active and eating well, we feel generally
better
- Exercise
produces hormones and chemical which enhance mood
Get
enough sleep each night and learn good sleep practices
-
Get 7 - 9 hours sleep each night
- Go
to bed at the same time and wake up at the same time each day
-
Remove the television and screens from the bedroom
- Don't
have caffeine after 2pm
Reduce
the use of alcohol, nicotine and caffeine
- Alcohol
causes disrupted sleep
- Cigarettes
stimulate the system cause alertness
- Caffeine
causs altertness and stimulates the entire body system
In
our work together we also focus on the connection between your
thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
We
identify the cause of your anxiety so that you can avoid triggers.
AUDIO
Overview
What is Relaxation Therapy
Panic
Attacks
Sensory
Relaxation Floating on a Cloud
Stretch
and Relax
Related
Links to specific pages for you to explore
BURNOUT
Managing
Techniques for Life and Living in Stressful Times
Sleep
Disorders
Stress
Reductions and Types of Anxiety Disorders
Managing
Anxiety
Effects
of Anxiety and Related Stress
To
learn more about how I can work with you please
make initial email contact steven@stevenwarren.co.uk
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