Permanent Anxiety: Causes and Ways to Cope with It

2023 Author: Blake Bradshaw | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-20 16:20

“I'm just worried about you,” or how to find out that anxiety, and not empathy, speaks in a person now. Modern psychologists have agreed that it is necessary to distinguish between the concepts of anxiety and anxiety.

Anxiety is an emotional state of negative coloration that arises in response to the uncertainty of a situation that promises danger or not. This is an inner premonition of something bad, tension and the expectation of an unfavorable outcome. The founding father of psychoanalysis, Freud, confidently divided the concepts of fear as a certain concrete, conscious phenomenon and the concept of anxiety as an indefinite, deep, irrational reaction of the psyche. As an experience, anxiety has its own motives and needs, evoked to regulate the life of a human being.

Anxiety is a combination of emotional, mental and behavioral reactions that are actualized through external or internal factors that are not always realized by the person himself. Anxiety is a "yellow card" indicating that soon society or internal thinking may show "red" and require the mobilization of the body's resources: "to battle!"

Anxiety is an individual feature of the human psyche. This is the tendency to experience anxiety, which is considered as a personal formation or a feature of the nature of the character of the person himself. But with all the possible individualization of the process of its emergence, it is divided into two types:

1. Adequate anxiety - as a reflection of unfavorableness, that is, a feeling that corresponds to the real state of affairs;
2. Inadequate anxiety: pointless - a person's experiences do not correspond to reality; background expectation of an unpleasant outcome in activities and communication.

Where does anxiety live?

Feelings of anxiety arise in the amygdala, the amygdala of the brain, which is the repository of all of our emotional responses, triggers and stimuli. The imperious amygdala manages the automatically starting processes, forcing us to sometimes turn into a person who simply cannot be recognized. This is an evolutionary "chip" that saves time for mental decisions, helping to "save" the human body in the face of imminent danger. It transmits a signal to the adrenal glands, where stress hormones - cortisol, adrenaline - begin to be produced at lightning speed.

Only now it is quite rare to run away from predators now. Man is increasingly tormented by existential questions. Background anxiety can appear on the basis of eternal thoughts and worries about money, success, relationships, work, study, one's place "under the sun", health, the fate of the country and loved ones.

How do you recognize background anxiety?

With chronic stress, the amygdala can shrink, becoming even more sensitive to stimuli. Anxiety can increase, there is intolerance towards oneself, closeness, fear of new things. And this, unfortunately, negatively affects not only the psychological, but also the physical state of health.

Symptoms of anxiety

• irritation to the heat of passion;
• feeling that trouble is impending;
• the heart jumps out of the chest;
• pain in the chest area may appear;
• failure in breathing - frequent, shallow, intermittent;
• severe sweating, trembling;
• weakness and fatigue;
• dizziness, problems with attention and concentration;
• poor falling asleep, shallow sleep;
• diarrhea, nausea, frequent urination.

Anxiety prevention

Fighting with the instinct of self-preservation is not worth it, but first of all, realizing the cause of anxiety, you can already help yourself a lot.

Here are some more basic tips for preventing anxiety.

1. Take care of the quality of your sleep. It is no longer a secret to anyone that healthy sleep determines the state of work of all body systems, including the production of hormones of joy. Failure to comply with the sleep regimen can negatively affect the psychological state of a person.
2. Learn to switch. Alternate mental work and physical work, take breaks and timely rest.
3. Learn to do simple breathing exercises to help you calm down and focus on yourself.
4. Meditation is one of the best ways to prevent and improve the quality of life in general. Find a technique you like and practice with pleasure.
5. Engage in physical activity - dancing, yoga, swimming, fitness, jogging and walking - anything that brings joy and good mood. This stimulates the production of dopamines, serotonin, and other hormones that keep your body healthy.
6. Eat well. Good does not mean much, good means quality. Fresh food, lots of vegetables, fruits, herbs, nuts, fish, oils, clean water - fill your energy reservoir with high quality fuel.
7. Coffee, cigarettes, alcohol - the less the better.

Anxiety can appear before important events in life or in unpredictable situations. Basically, when it’s over, the anxiety should go away. If it so happens that it does not go away with the elimination of the very reason that caused it, then you should take care of yourself and contact a specialist. Lingering anxiety for six months or longer is a good reason to meet with a therapist. Be considerate of yourself and those close to you.

And also - develop emotional intelligence in yourself - its high coefficient will provide both the prevention of anxiety, and in the event of its nevertheless arising - a quick exit from this problem state into a positive emotional tone and the corresponding positive self-determination of oneself, as well as motivation to improve the quality of one's life.