Anxiety

Anxiety is the state of experiencing the emotion of fear when the situation is safe.

We evolved in a very dangerous environment, there were animals wanting to eat us, people from other groups wanting to kill us and accidents, infections and starvation occurred frequently. We were more likely to survive if we thought the rustle in the grass was a tiger, worrying that we would stave meant we were more likely to look for and store food and being cautious of strangers and careful to avoid upsetting our group meant we were less likely to be killed, infected or exiled.  Being more anxious had many survival benefits so it is a very common condition.

When we experience severe, frequent, and disabling anxiety we describe this as an anxiety disorder. When we are anxious, our mind is alert and rapidly jumps from worry to worry, we tend to think the worst and overestimate the likelihood of problems occurring. We find it difficult to cope with uncertainty and underestimate our capacity to cope believing that we won’t know what to do or that we will make a mistake. We particularly worry about what others think of us and are frightened that we are ‘not good enough’ or that others won’t like us.  Our muscles tense and ache, we find it difficult to relax and to sleep. We become fatigued and nausea and abdominal pain are common.

Panic attacks are episodes of overwhelming anxiety where we feel like we are going to die. Our muscles tense and tremble warming up to run, our heart races and we breath fast and deep oxygenating our blood and muscles. This is useful when we are about to run but when we sit trembling in a corner or pace the room the over-breathing causes the levels of carbon dioxide in our blood to fall, this isn’t dangerous but is does cause dizziness, nausea, muscle spasms and pain, loss of balance, disturbance of perception and a terrifying sense of impending doom. Panic attacks can be reduced and often controlled using breathing exercises, this takes practice and anxiety is remains a very unpleasant experience.

Because anxiety is a misinterpretation of the situation, and we are not actually in danger with practice we can learn to calm ourselves using meditation techniques and by talking to ourselves in a more helpful way. Regular exercise and spending time with trusted friends or family helps significantly.