Nov 5, 2021 in Life Coaching

Do you Struggle with Anxiety?

A discussion on what Anxiety is and how it manifests in humans.

YOU STRUGGLE WITH ANXIETY-ARE YOU ALONE?

Do you feel alone in your Anxiety? 

Anxiety has been the “buzz” word since the start of the 21st century and has only grown more attention, but what exactly is anxiety?

Anxiety is generally defined as “A mental health disorder characterised by strong feelings of worry, stress or fear that interfere with one's daily activities”.

There is no X RAY, blood test or MRI that can clearly diagnose one’s anxiety, however as a starting point do the following check list:

ARE YOU:

• Feeling nervous, restless or tense.
• Having a sense of impending danger, panic or doom.
• Having an increased heart rate.
• Breathing rapidly (hyperventilation)
• Sweating.
• Trembling.
• Feeling weak or tired.
• Having trouble concentrating or thinking about anything other than the present worry.

If you have answered YES to 2 or more of the above, it is possible that you are experiencing some form of anxiety.

A psychiatrist in OHIO, USA claims that the average person would be surprised at who has an anxiety disorder. Furthermore he claims that there are many people you run into on a daily basis who have a diagnosable or diagnosed-and-treated anxiety disorder. While you don’t think they are especially calm people, you wouldn’t think they would have to seek therapy or be on medication.

A recent survey taken showed that 1 in 6 South Africans suffer with some form of anxiety.

CAN ANXIETY AFFECT THE BRAIN?

Scientifically speaking - Anxiety floods your brain with stress hormones prompting your brain to prepare itself for flight or fight mode. In an attempt to help you fight off whatever has made you anxious, your brain floods your central nervous system with adrenaline and cortisol. These hormones tell your body that something scary is about to happen. When you feel anxious, your body goes on alert.

Their role is to help you cope with danger. In order to do that, they sharpen your senses and make your reflexes faster. In a non-anxious brain, when the danger is gone, the sympathetic part of your nervous system takes over and calms you down..

BUT when you suffer from anxiety, you may not be able to reach that sense of calm. Instead, the rush of stress hormones causes your brain to release even more stress hormones until you’re simply overwhelmed

What you need to know is that Anxiety disorders are the most common type of mental illness in the United States. 

As a sufferer there are only three questions you want answered:

1. Why Am I Like This?
2. How Do I Recover?
3. How Do I Stay Recovered?

It is important to note that everyone feels anxiety at some point – it is the degree of the feelings, and duration of symptoms that can determine if someone needs help. It is not something to be ashamed of, as you can see just how common it has become. If you feel like you suffer from anxiety then contact us for a free trial counselling session.

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