Anxiety 101

Anxiety. We’ve all experienced it. Whether it is being anxious before a big meeting or giving a presentation or worry about balancing your finances, anxiety symptoms are a common occurrence. With current concerns about health and movement restrictions, there is heightened anxiety for many people. But the feeling of anxiety is a part of a normal physiological response. Most people have heard of the fight, flight, or freeze response. When presented with a threat, your body naturally releases hormones to help you stay safe. Under normal circumstances, after the threat has passed, those hormones decrease and our body is able to return to baseline. Unfortunately, that normal response can be disrupted and people can experience symptoms of anxiety when there is minimal or no threat. Our modern pace can be very stressful and lend itself to the difficulty of the body being able to reset to a normal relaxed response. There are several constellations of symptoms that put together can carry a diagnosis of an Anxiety Disorder. Some disorders include Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, Social Anxiety Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, or Phobias. While people can be anxious about a wide variety of things, such as in Generalized Anxiety Disorder, they can also develop very specific fears, such as a phobia. A person with the specific fear of spiders has Arachnophobia. A person can experience significant symptoms of anxiety that disrupt their normal ability to function, therefore, it is called a disorder. Regardless of the type of Anxiety Disorder, the symptoms can be managed and, for some people, resolve completely over time. Untreated disorders can lead to worsening symptoms and increase risk of other illnesses. Some patients have expressed having symptoms of Depression first, and then developing an Anxiety Disorder related to consequences of Depression. Others also experience symptoms of both Depression and Anxiety at the same time. Treatment for anxiety can take on many forms, but the mainstay is therapy and/or medications for most people. There are many types of therapy, but Cognitive Behavior Therapy has been shown to be particularly successful with the treatment of Anxiety and Depression. Treatments vary from pharmaceuticals such as SSRIs, or Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors, to more natural or holistic approaches such as a change in nutrition. Certain essential oils, such as Lavender, Lemon and Peppermint may be helpful. Light therapy, physical movement and exercise can also be helpful. Breathing exercises, visualization, and Progressive Muscle Relaxation can be particularly helpful for calming the body during or immediately after anxiety symptoms. I hope you enjoyed this episode of the Hope Infusion and will join us next week for more inspiration for your journey. If this has helped you, please subscribe here and join us on the app for one of our live recordings. Have a blessed day, on purpose!