Anxiety is an important system in the body, preparing us for dangerous situations when we may need to take action to protect ourselves, our loved ones our homes. In an anxiety disorder it is rather like the sensitivity of the anxiety is set to maximum so we find that we become anxious about everyday situations and it is this moment when anxiety begins to affect our everyday lives that we may have to take action.
So how do you know that your anxiety is becoming a problem?
- You worry more
- You find that you have irrational or unlikely fears
- You have trouble sleeping
- You are tense or suffer from tension headaches
- Digestion problems
- You become very aware of your actions and how others might judge you (stage fright with the world as your stage)
- You many panic
- You may be wracked with self-doubt
If you have more than 4 of these then you may be suffering from anxiety. While you may be unable to prevent anxious feelings you can choose how you react to them. Part of anxiety is to introduce doubt into your life and when you are unsure you seek re-assurance from elsewhere. This is in part why we become so dependent on the opinions of others when we are anxious. You need to try to remember that you are the expert on your own feelings and if you are feeling anxious then no-one else can confirm or deny it, only you can, they can only tell you what they observe.
Learning to relax and control your breathing can be one of the most effective techniques in controlling both anxiety and panic. Progressive muscle relaxing gets you to clench then release each muscle group and notice the difference between the two trying to get as much of the soft muscle tone into your body as possible (neck, jaw, face, etc.) Relaxation is something which becomes easier with practice but regular practice need not take long and has huge benefits for you.
In fact anxiety is one of the most common mental illnesses in the UK today affecting as many as 1 in 10 people at any one time so you are not alone as a sufferer. It is certainly worth going to your GP who will be able to discuss with you the range of treatments in addition to talking therapies which can be useful in helping get new habits established.
Where your sleep patterns are disrupted and you are worrying excessively you owe it to yourself to seek treatment you would not hesitate if it were a broken arm so why pause to see if it will cure itself if it is anxiety. In getting help a counsellor or therapist will help you to find ways to challenge those unhelpful thoughts and look at new ways of working. Sometimes it can be as simple as doing one thing different and while it might seem obvious afterwards, the nature of being anxious means you may never have seen it on your own. In reality the sooner you ask for help the sooner you can be yourself again.