Anxiety Resources and Support: Tools to Navigate Your Journey
At the most basic level anxiety is a very misunderstood part of the human condition, it evolved long ago in the ancient part of the brain called the limbic system, it became our decision making system. As we evolved we would learn what was good for us and what was dangerous and these new situations would then programme the amygdala as a way of keeping us safe and alive. This programme is still running strong within us today but the thing is, we no longer live in a world constantly full of danger, we no longer have to escape from predators to make it home safely. But we now live in a world where anxiety is so common it's nearly the norm. It seems the modern world has brought people to a state where they are almost always either on guard or trying to distract themselves.
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Anxiety can kick off anywhere and at anytime. Here are some of the symptoms of anxiety:
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a racing heart
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sweaty hands
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difficulty breathing
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A need to urinate
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feeling faint
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feeling sick
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trembling
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dry mouth
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trouble sleeping
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headaches
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a sense of paranoia and impending doom.
These are all completely natural and just the body doing what is supposed to do in times of perceived danger, but we don't like these feelings so we start analyzing our thoughts to try and understand what they mean and why they kicked off these responses within us. This is where we begin to engage in repetitive thoughts loops and we may start to believe that the thoughts we are having are true!
Anxiety disorders tend to adhere to a common pattern: a challenging phase of life lasting around six to eight months, characterized by heightened stress levels. These prolonged periods of adversity gradually deplete our mental, emotional, and physical reserves. It's during this state of exhaustion that anxiety tends to emerge.
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The subconscious mind, sensing the need to replenish, initiates anxiety, a form of self-sabotage in the hope of prompting us to retreat from the demands of daily life to stay at home in the hopes that we will just relax and recharge. However, the conscious and unconscious mind don't understand each other well. They operate on different systems and struggle to communicate effectively. Consequently, we often misunderstand the signals, fixating on the content of our thoughts and bodily sensations rather than understanding the underlying context.
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This misinterpretation triggers a cycle of over analysis and avoidance behaviors as we desperately attempt to shield ourselves from experiencing the discomfort of these unwanted thoughts and emotions. We need to adopt a fresh perspective on anxiety, one that allows us to understand these internal processes.
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Unfortunately the mainstream medical world seems to only treat the symptoms of anxiety, usually with medication which don't seem to have a very high success rate in helping people make long lasting change. which is one of the reasons why anxiety disorders are so prevalent and so few people make a recovery via those methods.
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My style of therapy will help you:
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Understand what anxiety is
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Where anxiety comes from
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How you can calm yourself down quickly when anxiety does arise
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How you can recalibrate your feelings so anxiety is no longer an issue in your life
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How to think and behave in new ways so it doesn't return
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I can teach you these things through methods and perspectives that I know work as they have worked for myself and many others who have made massive improvements in their emotional well being. I can help you stop feeling a victim to these thoughts and feelings so you take back control of your life. Helping regain the energy you are losing so you feel more alive and can begin to take steps to improve not just your mental health but any other areas or your life that need addressing.
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Evidence suggests that the sooner you begin working on your recovery the better, left for too long anxiety can cause a whole host of other issues for the sufferer that make things even more difficult. It is evident that conditions like insomnia, IBS, skin conditions, migraine headaches, arthritis, digestive issues, blocked sinus's and many others are caused by or at very least made worse by anxiety and stress. This happens when the body is constantly stuck in the fight or flight mode meaning that the body is not in the parasympathetic 'rest, digest and repair' mode. Ask any doctor and they will tell you that stressed people have far more illness and ailments than calm people.
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When anxiety persists for too long in certain personality types it can morph into OCD and sometimes spiral down into depression.
Lifestyle changes you can make right now
There are some common sense things that you can begin doing right now outside of therapy that can reduce anxiety and help you find more calmness:
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Reduce caffeine intake - Caffeine stimulates the adrenal glands within the body which release adrenalin into the body, this is what causes the 'caffeine rush'. This simulates the bodies natural fight or flight response which causes the body to become hyperaware and hypersensitive. I expect you know what I'm talking about when the feeling of anxiety symptoms have kicked off after a strong cup of coffee. We really want to be avoiding this, we want our bodies to be calm as much as possible so they can stay in the 'rest, digest and repair' state which is wonderful for our biology. It would also be smart to avoid other stimulants like alcohol and nicotine.
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Take sleep seriously - Getting regular good quality sleep is one of the most important things you can do if becoming a calmer person is a priority. We sleep in 90 minutes cycles where we go through light sleep, REM sleep and deep sleep. Experts say that we should aim for 5 of these cycles each night meaning that ideally we want to be trying to get 7.5 hours sleep each night to give the brain and body the sleep process they need. A major factor in sleep is reducing caffeine, as mentioned above caffeine is a stimulant which will make having a good nights sleep harder, caffeine has a half life of about 5 hours so if you have a coffee in the evening it will seriously affect your nights sleep. Try to cut out caffeine completely but if you can't do that at least try to limit your caffeine in take to the mornings. Also find out what your chronotype is and then begin to get into the appropriate sleep routine, society seems to treat us as if we are all the same to fit in with the system, so researching this and adjusting your lifestyle appropriately can produce big changes.
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Exercise - This one may seem obvious to some but it's importance can't be understated, we evolved in a world very different from the one we live in now and our bodies are designed to take on long periods of exercise. Cardio is best for producing endorphins and giving that feel good sensation when a workout is completed. A good sauna session can also have the same effect. If your feeling brave you can also take cold showers, these give your body a powerful cardio workout and release feel good chemicals. Oh and if you can step into the cold shower whilst staying calm, relaxing your body and not making a big deal out of the cold water it's great practice for learning to stay calm within yourself even if your body is uncomfortable!
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Meditation and yoga - The western world makes everyone strive for things, has us working too hard as we have to look after our families, makes us compete with our friends and neighbours. Social media makes us compare ourselves to other people's perceived lives, which are usually engineered to make them look as good as possible whilst negating the difficult part of their lives. With this being the way of life I don't think it's any surprise that so many people are suffering with anxiety. Getting into a regular practice can really help you learn to become aware of your thoughts and detach from them by learning to place your attention elsewhere. This can provide you with a reset so you can let go of all the stuff within our lives and just focus on yourself for a while allowing to bring some calmness into your life.
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Be mindful of the media you consume - This is often overlooked by people, if we want to become less anxious we should make sure that we are only consuming things that make us feel good. As mentioned above our subconscious mind and body doesn't know if what you are watching is real or not. I don't watch horror films anymore as this provokes the anxious feeling within us that we are trying to avoid. Even though you know consciously that it's just a film, the body really thinks that someone is being murdered right in front of you, for example. Also try and avoid watching the mainstream media news as this is always full of fear and negativity and gives you even more things to worry about unnecessarily, this tends to come from a point of view to support an agenda and direct what we think about and programme us into how they want us to think about those things. In general try and avoid anything that causes an excited feeling within the body as this will disrupt your potential calmness.
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Laugh and connect more - Just as negative influences will effect the body in a negative way, positive influences will influence it in a positive way! So spend more time with friends and family, do the things you love more often, Give love to your pets, find creative hobbies that bring you joy, spend time in nature, find people and things that make you laugh and try to enjoy the little things in life!
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