Redefining Anxiety

by Logan Taylor

Introduction

Anxiety is something that grips all of us on varying scales of intensity. Whether you have an anxiety disorder or not, you have felt anxious at some point in your life. Maybe it was before taking a big test that you didn’t study for, or awaiting your turn for an interview for a job you really want. Anxiety arises in us every day in many different ways, but what exactly is anxiety, and the distinction between it and a disorder? Are there things in our everyday lives that make us more anxious? And what are the strategies someone could use to feel less anxious? In this blog, I’ll cover all these topics as well as provide interesting anxiety-diminishing strategies that you probably haven’t heard of before.

What Is Anxiety?

Anxiety can show itself in a multitude of ways. Fear, tiredness, sweating, trouble sleeping, trouble focusing, trembling- these are just a few symptoms on the long list of problems. Anxiety can affect anyone and put a hold on someone’s day-to-day life. Where normal anxiety differs from those with anxiety disorders is the length in which they feel the way they do. Normal anxiety is a relatively temporary feeling, while sufferers of anxiety disorders feel these symptoms more often and more severely.

Statistically, anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in not only America but also worldwide, and women are more likely to have one than men. Just over 19% of the population in America suffers from them, but nearly 4% of the global population has an anxiety disorder. And over 60% of those with an anxiety disorder don’t treat them even, though they are often easily treatable.

As for the different types of anxiety disorders, Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is the most common, affecting 3.1% of America’s population. Other anxiety disorders are Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD), and phobias. This isn’t an exhaustive list, but I think this covers the most well-known anxiety disorders, each of which has its own set of differences. All of which (except for SAD) are much more common to affect women.

Effects of Anxiety

Anxiety is not just an imaginary disorder; its effects have a real influence on not only our minds but also our bodies. Physical symptoms include, but are not limited to, increased heart rate, rapid breathing, chest pain, headaches, fatigue, and even insomnia. It can affect many different parts of our body in ways that we might not expect. In the cardiovascular system, with increased heart rate and chest pains, anxiety can lead to an increased risk of heart disease. Anxiety can also lead to an increased frequency of headaches, dizziness, depressive feelings, and weight gain. You can read about digestive issues, immune system issues, and much more in this article.

Anxiety Strategies

There are a lot of strategies someone with an anxiety disorder could employ to help calm their mind. Of course, one of the best ways to work on your anxiety is to speak with a therapist, especially if it’s really severe. However, just talking in general to anyone could play a huge role in calming you down.

Another strategy is to try to learn what triggers your anxiety. Looking for patterns of how you feel around things that make you anxious can help you work through those anxieties. The next step from there could be talking to someone about how you feel, like I said before, or expressing how you feel through other mediums, like writing.

Exercise and diet could also play a huge role in managing anxiety. Skipping meals and eating unhealthily will not provide you with the energy you need to make it through the day or through your anxiety. Limiting alcohol and caffeinated drinks that could trigger anxiety could be beneficial too. Even getting a full night’s sleep provides your body and mind with the time they need to rest and reset.

It’s always good to give yourself a reality check as well. Your anxious thoughts will be much worse than what the situation you’re facing actually looks like. Take a second to breathe.

Another trick is the 3-3-3 rule. What this recommends is that you look around your environment and name three things that you see. From there, name three sounds you hear and then any three parts of your body. Supposedly, this is supposed to reset your mind and help you refocus on the real situation in front of you.

Above all, try to keep a positive outlook on the situation you are anxious about. Try to distract yourself, if necessary, but accept the situation you’re in and take the time you need to get back into the right headspace. Anxiety is an extremely common thing to feel, so remember, you’re not alone, and always look for someone you can talk to for professional or unprofessional help.

Lesser-known Strategies

Now that we’ve gone over what anxiety is and some strategies to combat it, I’m getting to the part of this topic I really wanted to talk about. It’s a strategy that I think could be very useful in combating anxiety, and it’s not one that I think is very well-known.

Let’s talk about gratitude. Our brains can’t process gratitude and anxiety at the same time. Think about it like our natural “fight or flight” feeling. That feeling is our brain going into its sympathetic mode in order to respond to a stressful situation appropriately. When we’re not in sympathetic mode, we’re in parasympathetic mode, which is basically the opposite; we’re calm and resting. Similarly, this is how the relationship between positive and negative emotion works. If we can train our brain to focus on feeling gratitude towards something when we’re feeling anxious, it has the potential to redirect our emotions to positivity. You can read more about gratitude and anxiety here.

In addition to gratitude, excitement can offer the same anxiety-relieving effect. In fact, it could work even better than gratitude. Excitement is a very similar feeling to anxiety, almost like it’s a positive version of it. The feelings shared by each emotion are generally the same: faster heart rate, shallower breathing, and our bodies go into that sense of “fight or flight.” This article gives us a step-by-step strategy to use excitement to our advantage. Start by convincing yourself that you are feeling excited. Then recognize what you’re feeling and how excited you are. Hopefully, you will eventually truly feel excited and be able to move on from the anxious feeling you were previously experiencing.

Final Thoughts

Anxiety is an emotion that grips us all at varying levels. Whether you have an anxiety disorder or not, you’ve experienced anxiety in some capacity. Hopefully, this blog was able to shed some light on strategies you could take to overcome your anxiety at any level. Next time you’re feeling anxious, remember to try some of these strategies. Remember to be grateful and be excited that you have more control over your emotions than you previously thought.