How Do I Get Rid of Anxiety? Part Two

How Do I Get Rid of Anxiety?: Part two- Anxiety explained.

Welcome back to the six part series on ‘How Do I Get Rid of Anxiety?’

I hope that the overview information provided last week was helpful and hopeful for you. 

Jumping right to it, I want to help provide information about the differences of anxiety, worry and panic, because that comes up often and sometimes used interchangeably when they are in fact different.

I hope that in explaining the differences between them, you can understand what has been troubling you. In particular, I hope you can utilize that information to help determine which skills will be helpful for you as we go through some of the skills in the coming weeks!

Anxiety

Anxiety is characterized as feeling restless, keyed up or on edge; easily tired, having difficulty concentrating, or feeling as though their mind has ‘gone blank’. You might also feel irritable, maybe you notice tension in your muscles, and your sleep is disrupted (difficulty falling or staying asleep, restless, poor sleep).

Anxiety is a physiological response we have as human beings, developed to protect us from harm. It helps increase our awareness and senses to perceive danger before it presents itself. For example, anxiety is really helpful when we are walking home by ourselves. It increases our senses (sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch) to notice what is going on around us. We can be more aware of the sounds of footsteps of someone walking nearby, or a door opening up at the house we are walking past, or even a car driving past us that is coming up from behind. It is really helpful for us as it makes us aware of our surroundings, and has our body ready to protect itself for safety.

Anxiety helps to protect us by activating our fight, flight or freeze response in our bodies. It increases our shallow breathing to try and bring more oxygen into out body. Our heart rate also increases to send blood and oxygen to our muscles to move. Anxiety tightens our muscles to prepare to run (flight), fight or keep still(freeze). It makes us sweaty so that we can cool ourselves off quickly. Even our vision becomes focused so we aren’t distracted by unnecessary objects. Anxiety also quiets the mind from focusing on things outside of the immediate future (to ensure survival), and it stops or slows down our digestion so that all of our energy can be spent on protecting ourselves.

Your body is responding to protect you, and anxiety is telling it to prepare, which is helpful when there is an actual threat happening, right?

The downside however, is that this response is really unhelpful when there are no threats around us or it keeps going. And that can be the trouble with anxiety – if we don’t know how to turn it down, it can really feel like it has taken over!

 

Worry

Now worry on the other hand is a bit different. While it can bring our attention to possible future concerns, it doesn’t really help is to do anything about it.  It doesn’t offer solutions or help; it just turns on the alarms (for things that haven’t happened) and keeps us focused on them. The analogy I like to use is thinking about worry as a rocking chair in a car race. You want to get to the finish line, but you can only rocking back and forth in the same spot.

So if you notice that worry is present, we need to actively do things to stop the rocking, and help us get back moving.

 

Panic

Panic (also frequently noted in panic attacks) is an abrupt, unexpected surge of intense fear or discomfort, that only lasts a few minutes. You might also notice a pounding or accelerated heart rate, sweating, shaking, shortness of breath or feeling as though you can’t breathe or are being choked, chest pain, nausea, feel dizzy, unsteady, light-headed or faint, feel cold or hot, experience numbness or tingling, feel as though you are not in reality or that you are not in your own body. You might fear that you are going crazy, losing control, or even fear you are dying.

After experiencing one of these episodes, you might also have consistent worry about having one again, or what might happen to you if it happens again. This is also why folks might feel that panic can ‘last for hours’ or even ‘all day’. It’s the high level of anxiety that follows a panic attack that makes it seem as though you are having one long experience of panic. You might notice that you have changed how you behave to try and avoid a panic attack from happening again.

 

Other Presentations

There are other presentations of anxiety as well. Some folks struggle with social anxiety, phobias, or agoraphobia. To keep it short, social anxiety is when you have fear or anxiety about social settings because you feel others might judge you. Phobias are where you have anxiety or fear about a specific object or situation (like being in an elevator). And agoraphobia is where have fear or anxiety about being in spaces (for example: parking lots, stores, crowds, or outside of your home). All of these situations is a response our bodies have to what our minds think is a real threat.

 

So what can we do about any of it if anxiety is hardwired in us, and our minds are perceiving threats that aren’t there?

We can practice some really easy, quick skills that can help keep our anxiety in check and reduce the impact of future anxiety when it arises. And by reducing the anxiety we experience regularly, we then reteach our body what a real threat is. Plus, the more we work at calming the mind and body, the better equipped we will be at managing anxiety when it pops up.

Stay tuned and check out next week’s article as we start diving into some very helpful skills!

 

If this is something that you are struggling with, and would like to work on it with a counsellor, visit the Contact Me link on my website to schedule an appointment today.

If you want more information, skills and support with your mental health, make sure to sign up for my email list to hear about my upcoming online Course in Mental Health!

Know someone who might benefit from reading this information? Feel free to share this with them, and encourage them to sign up for my blog emailed directly to them!

And don’t forget to follow me on Instagram or Facebook @devanceciliacounselling for daily supports and information!

 

Photo cred: Jayy Torres 

Anxiety Series Interruption

Anxiety Series Interruption

 

My deepest apologies for the series interruption in the scheduled 6-part series on anxiety.

However, I felt it important to provide support and guidance on how to navigate the heaviness in the world right now… Which might indeed be bringing on more anxiety for many of us.

While anxiety is a very natural and helpful response (used to keep us safe), it easily becomes overwhelming when the fears we are aware of don’t pause, stop or go away quickly.

And we have been living in a world with constant updates of the imminent fears for a full two years now.

As of today, not only have we been dealing with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and the convoy protests of the pandemic restrictions. We are now inundated with news about what is happening with the war in Ukraine.

IT’S A LOT.

With the blessings of the internet and social media, allowing everyone to share their real-life experiences, unfiltered by media or time, it is also a curse. There is not off button, no option to pause and come back, or to wait for the news segment the next day for the update.

We don’t have the opportunity to step away from what is going on in the world anymore as we once did.

Yes of course, we can purposely step away by not using our social media accounts (one of the helpful tips coming up!). But how addicted to you feel to your phone and those programs? How much of using them is necessary for your work, or in staying connected with your friends and family?

While turning off your electronic devices can be very helpful, there is a bit more purpose and energy that needs to be put forward in order to really feel the break and pause from the inundation and overwhelm.

So, what can you do to get this break? To take a pause? And to lower your stress and anxiety levels?

Here are a few quick and easy things to consider:

  1. Like I mentioned before, take a break from social media and the internet. Turn off notifications from the apps, and put your device out of arm’s reach.

  2. Monitor what you are using your devices for. Is it for work, or to connect with people you care about? Focus on doing just that. Search the people’s content you want to view and avoid scrolling.

  3. If you notice that you have begun scrolling, stop, lift your eyes from the screen and take a deep breath. Decide which direction you want to go next.

  4. Limit your time on social media or the internet. Put a timer on, and when it goes off, time to put the device away and move your attention to something else (watch your favourite show, call a friend, go outside, complete a chore, have a shower, etc).

  5. Fact check your sources. Check in to where the information you are reading is coming from? Is it from that random person you met once at that place, and became Facebook friend with? Or is it from a reputable source? Having factual information can be helpful in your search for information.

  6. Increase the activities you engage in that help you feel better and balanced. This might be spending some time focusing on your breathing or practicing mindfulness a few times a day, it might be engaging with your new or favourite hobby or interest a little more, it might be spending a few more moments in the warm shower or bath. Whatever it is, allow yourself to have more time engaging in those activities (aka use the time you would have spent on the internet towards these present moment activities).

  7. Donate to the cause. Feeling helpless in times of distress is very common and can increase our levels of anxiety and fear. If you feel like you need to help to settle yourself, find reputable organizations that are looking for supplies, money*, or services to aid those who are struggling.

*Please note, when giving money, please ensure that you have checked the source you are wanting to donate to (such as a charity or organization) to ensure your money indeed goes to where you are wanting it to go, and you are not a victim of fraud.

 

As the days and weeks continue, I hope this information is helpful in your pursuit of mental wellness and balance.

If you would like support during these times, please visit the Contact Me page on my website to schedule an appointment. *New Saturday morning appointments have opened to welcome new clients!

If you have any tactics that you use to keep yourself balanced in tough times, I would love to hear it! Hit reply and let me know what you do, or share your tips with me on social media! You can reach me on instagram @devanceciliacounselling and on Facebook @devanceciliacounselling

Know someone who might benefit from reading this information? Feel free to share this with them, and encourage them to sign up for my blog emailed directly to them!

Until next week…

Take good care,

Devan