How to Live with Anxiety
Have you ever experienced a moment in your life where you started noticing you were sweating uncontrollably, your heart beat was racing, and you felt your stomach turning in knots? These are just some symptoms you can experience when you have anxiety.
Anxiety is an unpleasant feeling of worry and fear. Everyone experiences anxiety in their life depending on what stressors prompt them-it’s normal. But when it starts to become an impairment to you or affects the quality of your life, that’s when it’s a problem.
Disoders
Anxiety disorders affect millions of people and are actually more common than people think. There are a few different types of anxiety disorders; generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), panic disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), social anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and specific phobias.
Generalized anxiety disorder is when you have excessive thoughts of worry or fear of just about anything without necessarily having an identifiable stimulus.
Symptoms may include:
- Difficulty breathing
- Rapid heartbeat
- Nausea
- Sweating
- Muscle aches
- Headaches
- Irritability
- Dizziness
Panic disorder is a condition where people suffer from extreme anxiety and reoccurring panic attacks that come on without a warning.
Symptoms may include:
- Rapid heartbeat
- Sweating
- Trembling
- Fear
- Chest pains
- Chocking
- Shortness of breath
Obsessive compulsive disorder is a condition where people have uncontrollable thoughts that produce feelings of anxiety, and following these feelings people engage in rituals or routines to help ease their unwanted feelings.
Examples include:
- Repeating behaviors (I.e., washing hands)
- Checking on things (i.e., making sure doors are locked or stove is turned off)
- Unwanted thoughts (i.e., fears of death)
- Hoarding
Social anxiety disorder, also called social phobia, is when you have overwhelming fears in social settings where you may feel like you’re being judged about everything you do or how you look. This disorder can prevent people from engaging in social situations.
Symptoms may include:
- Avoidance of social settings or limiting social interactions because of:
- Rapid heartbeat
- Sweating
- Muscle tension
- Stomach pains
- Trembling
- Worrying
- Self-consciousness
- Fears of being judged
Post-traumatic stress disorder is a condition that may develop after a traumatic experience or event.
Symptoms may include:
- Loss of appetite
- Difficulty sleeping
- Reoccurring flashbacks of traumatic event
- Loss of emotions
Specific phobia is when people have an extreme anxiety or fear for a specific situation or stimulus.
With the presence of a feared stimulus or situation symptoms may include:
- Feelings of discomfort
- Rapid heartbeat
- Sweating
- Nausea
Treatment
As you can see a lot of symptoms are similar because of the base root of anxiety within these disorders. Of course everyone and every situation are different, but the best treatment for treating anxiety disorders is cognitive behavioral therapy. Cognitive behavioral therapy uses a technique to help people change their thoughts or feelings about things and turn them into positive ones. Therapists help people breakdown their thoughts and then help them react differently to the stimulus that is affecting them. Other treatments also include medications (i.e., antidepressants), psychotherapy, counseling, and alternative treatments. Alternative treatments include: exercise, eating a healthy diet, getting plenty of rest, meditation, and talking with people who are a part of your support system.
My Story
After dealing with a loved one falling ill, I have personally dealt with anxiety for quite a few years now. I have found that alternative treatments really help me out. I started exercising more especially when I feel more anxious, and I found it helpful to take time out of the day to just relax even if it’s just 15 minutes out of the day.
I know with being a student, working, and among other responsibilities it can get hard to fit in time for yourself, but if you are dealing with anxiety I think it’s important. I use to sit in class and by the time the lecture was over, I wouldn’t be able to remember anything from it because my mind was focused on my loved one. I would just sit there with all those anxious feelings, but I’ve learned to take a moment for myself and think positive thoughts. Whatever you can do to reduce your anxiety I think is worth giving a try.
Related articles
- Do Benzos Deserve a Major Role in the Treatment of Psychiatric Disorders? (madinamerica.com)
- Anxiety – specific phobias (neumannpsychology.wordpress.com)
- “My nerves are shot!” (cmquest.wordpress.com)
- Social Anxiety Disorder – The Basics (antiaginginfotips.wordpress.com)
- When anxiety develops into a disorder (slideshare.net)
- Exercise and Generalized Anxiety Disorder (expsychlab.com)
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) with Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) – On a Person who has Social Anxiety Disorder (thinkingbookworm.typepad.com)
This article really caught my attention because my friend recently started getting anxiety. It would usually be while he was in the car. But for some reason medication didn’t help him. Luckily he was able to control his anxiety by doing the same thing you did and that was exercise. That really seemed to help him out a lot. I am happy that you have been able to control your anxiety.