Anxiety is natural and has the function of either avoiding or fighting in case of real danger. When anxiety causes a person to escape from a life-threatening situation it has a good purpose. However when fear or anxiety occur while having little to do with self-preservation it is of no benefit, it drains a person’s energy without offering anything in return.
Anxiety is characterised by excessive worrying about everyday life events, even with no obvious reasons to worry about. Every day life becomes a constant state of worry or fear. Although everybody knows what it is like to feel anxious, worried, nervous or panicky, when it happens too often it can take over a person’s life and prevent them from doing what they really want to do.
Untreated it can become a disorder.
Anxiety comes in different forms.
- Chronic Worrying: Constant worrying about everything and everybody that is surrounding the sufferer without knowing exactly what the problem is.
- Fears & Phobias: Fear of spiders, needles, blood, water, enclosed spaces, flying are examples of these.
- Performance Anxiety: Often happens during exams.
- Public Speaking Anxiety.
- Shyness.
- Panic Attacks: Difficulty breathing, feeling dizzy, heart pounding or fingers tingle.
- Agoraphobia: Agoraphobia can manifest in being afraid to be away from home or fear of open spaces, bridges, crowds, queues, or public transport.
- Obsessions & Compulsions: Obsessive thoughts or compulsive urges to perform certain tasks.
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Ongoing memories of something terrible that happened in the past such as rape, abuse, murder, hold-up.
- Concerns about appearance.
- Excessive worrying about health (Hypochondria).
Symptoms of anxiety include:
- Shaky
- Inability to relax
- Restlessness
- Tiredness
- Headaches
- Difficulty breathing
- Dizziness
- Change in urinating frequency
- Sweating
- Heart pounding
- Upset stomach
- Irritability
- Change in sleeping pattern
- Worrying
- Inability to concentrate
Treatment:
In therapy, people suffering from anxiety will learn to recognise and change thought patterns and behaviours that are leading to anxious feelings. Relaxation techniques might also be introduced during therapy to help control the tension.
“I worried about many things in life, much of which never came to pass.”
Mark Twain
"Anxiety is treatable".
