These are associated with avoiding and/or
dealing with danger and involve our body, mind and behaviour.
Our
Body:-
x_ Breathing
becomes more rapid.
x_ Heart
beat speeds up.
x_ We feel
dizzy and light-headed.
x_ We get
'butterflies' in our stomach.
x_ We feel
sick and/or need the toilet.
x_ Our
mouth becomes dry and it feels difficult to swallow.
x_ We sweat
more.
x_ We feel
'jittery' / 'jumpy' / 'on-edge'.
| Our Thoughts:- |
|
|
x_ We feel frightened.
x_ We may
tell ourselves that we are physically ill, having
a heart attack or a stroke or going mad.
x_ We
think people are looking at us.
x_ We
worry that we may lose control or make a fool of
ourselves in front of others.
x_ We feel
that we must escape and get to a safe place.
Our
Behaviour:-
x_ We make
excuses to avoid going out or doing things.
x_ We
hurry out of places or situations where we feel
anxious.
x_ Walk to
avoid buses, cross the street to avoid people.
x_ We may
have a drink or take a tablet before doing
something we find stressful.
These symptoms aptly demonstrate the mind and
body working together and the behaviours this can lead to.
Everybody has anxiety, even confident people. We may look at
other people and think that they are more confident than us, but that is not
always the case, confidence exists on different levels. Some people are very confident in some
situations and not so confident in others. The
problem is not
anxiety itself, but what we think about it, and the first part of
curing these problems involves understanding and controlling the anxiety. To do
this we have to know how it works.
Imagine you're lying on a beach. It's a beautiful day, the sun is
shining and there is a gentle breeze wafting over your body. Sounds of nature
fill the air as you chat and laugh with family and friends. You are surrounded
by people that you love and respect and who love and respect you. You feel
warm, contented and happy, totally relaxed, anxiety-free.
Now imagine a very different scene. It's the dead of night and you
are alone, walking down a dimly lit alley. There are doorways on either side –
who knows what's hiding in them waiting to pounce? You are scared and your
senses are heightened. Your sight and hearing have become more sensitive, able
to pinpoint the slightest movement or sound. Your breathing and heartbeat have
become more rapid, you feel light-headed and dizzy, want to go to the toilet or
throw up. Your limbs feel shaky and your whole body is now charged with energy,
full of anxiety, ready to fight or flee, possibly for your life.
These two scenes represent either end of the anxiety scale. In the
first we feel warm, secure and safe, we are fully relaxed. In the second we are
fully tense, in a state of preparedness, highly alert and scared.
Anxiety probably serves many functions, but two
of the main ones are:
1. It helps prepare our body for action, making us more alert,
ready to fight or flee from any imminent threat to our survival.
This is related to the direct physical anxiety symptoms such as racing heartbeat, fast breathing, being
jittery and on edge,
trembling etc. We can also go from being totally relaxed to
fully tense in an instant which forms the basis
of panic.
Physical anxiety symptoms are due to the 'Fight or Flight'
response. The body re-directing resources to the major muscle groups (legs,
arms, chest) to provide them with an
energy boost to prepare us for action (ultimately to fight or flee).
The
Fight-or-Flight Response
x_ Our
breathing becomes more rapid to get more oxygen
for these muscles into the blood.
x_ Our
heartbeat speeds up to get the blood to the muscles
quickly.
x_ Blood is
diverted away from parts of the brain (making
us light-headed and dizzy) and the stomach (causing
'butterflies').
x_ Energy
cannot be wasted processing any half-digested
food in our system so we have to get rid of it quickly – either
through the mouth (feelings of nausea) or the other end (wanting to go to the
toilet).
x_ Other
'energy-wasting' systems (unnecessary in time of
danger) are shut down. For example, saliva production, which
results in a dry mouth and difficulty swallowing.
The same happens with panic, but here things are
more
intense and happen almost instantaneously for when panic occurs
the danger is usually right on us.
2.
Anxiety also causes us to
plan ahead for any potential dangers and how we may deal with them. An
excellent survival strategy (it's better to deal with any possible danger or
avoid it before we get into the situation) but an unfortunate effect of this is
that we can get nervous and anxious just thinking about situations.
A main ingredient in the cause of certain anxiety disorders this
is related to symptoms of the mind such as persistent negative thoughts and
excessive worrying. Here, anxiety builds up as we think about situations. For
example:-
x_ Worry is
the main symptom in generalized anxiety
disorder (GAD).
x_ In
social anxiety disorder/social phobia we worry
about, or plan to avoid some feared social situation in the
future.
x_ Worry
and planning in OCD can be seen in the rituals
and compulsions.
As with the fight-or-flight response,
self-protection lies at the root of all such planning and worrying.
To get anxious in certain situations is normal, everyone does. And
most people even experience increased anxiety frequently. As mentioned earlier,
things like tests, interviews,
public speaking, dating, performing and
competitive sports
can make anyone pretty anxious.
But for some people things change ... anxiety
gets stronger. It comes on more and more and seems to happen for no apparent
reason.
Some may stay like this: generally too anxious,
feeling apprehensive and 'on-edge' frequently. Physical symptoms associated
with anxiety often start to appear.
For others, increased anxiousness, if not resolved, can lead to
more serious problems such as uncontrollable worrying, panic attacks, obsessive
thoughts and compulsive behaviours, irrational fears and phobias, even severe
depression.