Anxiety Disorder

Anxiety Disorder

What is Anxiety?

Anxiety is an emotion characterized by an unpleasant state of inner turmoil, often accompanied by nervous behavior such as pacing back and forth, somatic complaints, and rumination. It includes subjectively unpleasant feelings of dread over anticipated events. Anxiety is a feeling of uneasiness and worry, usually generalized and unfocused as an overreaction to a situation that is only subjectively seen as menacing.

What are the symptoms?

• Restlessness, irritability or the feeling of being on edge
• Having difficulty concentrating or focusing on a task
• Activated autonomic system: Increased heart rate, shallow breaths, chest pain/ tightness, sweating, etc. which can lead to shortness of breath or panic attack
• Sleep disturbance and insomnia in extreme cases
• Having difficulty controlling worrying thoughts, including excessive negative thinking
• Avoidance behaviours: Finding reasons to avoid things that trigger anxiety
• Comorbidity: Having another mental health disorder diagnoses, such as depression.

What factors increase Anxiety?

We all face problems and stressful situations in our day to day life. Things like past situations, death of a close one, a build up of a stressful situation, work stress, relationship issues etc causes stress and Anxiety.

Past events are one of the main reasons for Anxiety disorder. People who have directly faced trauma or abuse face a major problem of anxiety.

How to cope up with anxiety?

The techniques below outline ways of managing anxiety and steps to reduce the symptoms:

1. Stay active: Take part in hobbies that keep you busy and engaged– creative activities like painting, baking or playing music. Exercising or playing sports is an important part of your activity, as physical exertion activates the positive neurotransmitters in the brain leading to positive mood. It is also a productive way to channelize your energy.

2. Relaxation techniques: Relaxation techniques can assist in alleviating the mental and physical symptoms of anxiety. These techniques include deep breathing exercises, yoga and meditation. You can also relax your other senses by playing calming music, dimming the lights, lighting a candle or taking a warm bath.

3. Maintain routine: A routine provides a sense of control in our day. If you don’t want to plan a full itinerary for the day, you can use anchors in the day such as your meal times or your work out times and plan your other activities around these anchors

4. Journal your thoughts: Use a Journal to log your thoughts and feelings. It provides a form of release and allows you to identify your thought patterns. Journaling also helps prevent these difficult emotions to fester within you.

5. Stay socially connected: Speak to a loved one and share with them how you are feeling. A social interaction with someone familiar can make you feel comforted and supported, lessening your worries.