“What if the entrance exam is difficult? I should study longer. But what if I don’t get enough sleep? My immunity will go down… the fourth wave of COVID is approaching. What if I get COVID and can’t write the exam? If I don’t get into college, it would be awful… my future is terrible…. Everything’s a nightmare… This is crazy… I should focus… I can’t focus…. what if…”
Have you ever been stuck in a loop of what if’s, scrambling through dark thoughts that fill you with immense dread? Most people experience anxiety at some point in their lives. But not many understand anxiety and why it continues to be our enemy.
What is Anxiety?
Anxiety is apprehension about the future that leads to worrying and feelings of unpredictability and uncontrollability. It leads to tension, overarousal, and a readiness for risk. Avoidance is frequently present along with this.
It is normal to react with anxiety to stressful situations. However, persistent and uncontrollable anxiety can be a sign of anxiety disorders. Although anxiety is often confused with fear, there is a difference. Fear is a reaction to immediate danger, whereas anxiety is a diffused preoccupation with the future. Fear includes an instantaneous “fight or flight response”. Contrarily, anxiety is merely a readiness for this response.
Why Do We Get Anxious?
We Learn to be Anxious
Anxiety is a learned response to situations. A neutral object consistently paired with a threatening event starts inducing fear on its own. This form of learning is normal and adaptive since it allows anticipation of threats.
Stress
Stressful situations like relationship problems, work issues, unpredictable events, or traumatic events create anxiety. Stress and anxiety are linked to neurological structures like the amygdala, which processes threatening information.
The "Personality" Factor
Personality predisposes a person to anxiety. Neuroticism, introversion, and lower extraversion are associated with anxiety. Hypercritical individuals who are sensitive to criticism and have considerable negative thoughts are more likely to develop an anxiety disorder.
Genes and Demographics
Anxiety and anxiety disorders have a genetic heritage. Some demographic factors also increase the chances of developing anxiety disorders. Being a racial minority or a female is associated with a greater risk of anxiety.
The Mind-Body Link
Various physiological factors like chronic illnesses, hormonal imbalances, etc. cause anxiety. It is sometimes a side effect of medications. Ritalin, corticosteroids, dexamethasone, anti-seizure medication (Phenytoin), etc. cause anxiety.
What if You Never Got Anxious?
Mild anxiety serves some adaptive functions:
You Could Not Deal with Threats
Evolutionary psychologists believe that anxiety is a species-wide adaptation that alerts humans to threats to life, reproductive chances, property, status, etc. Similarly, Freud claimed that neurotic anxiety is pathological, but realistic anxiety allows the ego to deal with real-life threats. Anxiety also leads to quick responses to threats. Research suggests that anxious adolescents have fewer accidents in early adulthood compared to their non-anxious peers.
You Wouldn't Anticipate Danger
Anxiety helps one learn stimuli that predict danger, which aids management. According to cognitive theorists, worrying helps envision potential future circumstances and threats. This prediction of aversive events helps brainstorm solutions beforehand.
Your Performance would Deteriorate
Mild anxiety could serve as a source of motivation. Athletes and students with mild anxiety perform better on tests and in competitive sports. Rollo May claimed that anxiety created awareness of existence and death. It was a source of creativity. In his words, “You don’t paint a great picture lying on the couch having an afternoon nap. You paint a great picture by struggle… without anxiety, we would not be able to have the civilization we now have.”
It Would Affect Leadership Skills
Mild anxiety helps one envision possible outcomes and thus improves leadership skills. Such leaders are cautious thinkers, good decision-makers, and problem-solvers.
So, is Anxiety all Good?
Fear, Panic, and Distress
Extreme anxiety causes subjective distress and prevents people from living their lives fully. It lowers life satisfaction since one expends energy mainly on dealing with fear and panic.
It’s ‘Not You’, it’s Anxiety
Anxiety affects social relationships by engendering a fear of intimacy. It can also create a dependency that negatively affects loved ones. Marital distress and declines in relationship satisfaction are common outcomes.
Did You Miss That Deadline?
Anxiety impairs academic and occupational functioning. It is associated with avoidance of performance situations, increased drop-outs, unemployment, increased disability days, lowered productivity, and academic achievement.
Forget Being Healthy
Anxiety has negative effects on the body. It is involved in respiratory problems, heart diseases, muscle tension, and gastrointestinal problems. It also impairs the immune system and causes weight gain.
Brain Fog
The prefrontal cortex aids rational thinking. It is connected to the amygdala and responds rationally when the amygdala is activated. In the case of highly anxious brains, this connection is weakened, which leads to irrational thoughts. Anxiety also impairs short-term memory and working memory, leading to frequent forgetfulness, mistakes, and difficulties with decision-making.
How to Befriend Your Anxiety?
The Power of Thought
Managing thought patterns helps deal with anxiety. Schedule a 30-minute worry time every day to resolve your anxiety. Do not engage in worrying at any other time. Assess the realistic probability of apprehensions and convert them into positive thoughts by imagining facing your fears. Use the 5-4-3-2-1 technique to break up worrisome thoughts and orient to the present. Take a deep breath and do the following-
Step 1: Notice 5 things that you see.
Step 2: Notice 4 things that you can touch.
Step 3: Notice 3 things that you can hear.
Step 4: Notice 2 things you can smell.
Step 5: Notice 1 thing you can taste
Know Your Triggers
Identifying the causes of anxiety can aid in coping. Journal to identify thought patterns and manage your triggers. Knowing the causes of anxiety helps put it in perspective.
Sleep, Wake, Exercise
Good sleep and exercise improve well-being. Focusing on the body gets one out of one's mind. Five 30-minute exercise sessions per week are recommended. Anxiety-induced insomnia can be treated by having regular sleep schedules, comfortable bedding, and avoiding screens before bedtime.
Music and Relaxation
Relaxation exercises like deep breathing calm the senses. You can also try progressive muscle relaxation. Select a group of muscles and tighten and relax them successively. Meditation and aromatherapy can also relieve anxious thoughts.
Look Before You Eat
Monitoring eating habits is always helpful. Reduce your intake of alcohol and caffeine. Use dietary supplements that reduce anxiety, like lemon balm, omega-3 fatty acids, green tea, valerian root, etc. Consult your doctor to avoid complications with current medicines.
Avoid the Avoidance
Avoiding anxiety-inducing situations prevents one from facing fears. Learn relaxation techniques or positive self-talk that allow you to face the situation head-on. Overcoming fears boosts self-confidence.
Consider Therapy
Therapists help provide insights into problems and adequate coping techniques. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is commonly used with anxiety since it helps identify and modify thought and behaviour patterns that contribute to anxiety.
Conclusion
Anxiety may be an unpleasant sensation, but it need not be our enemy. People are light and dark, day and night. To live fully is not to divorce the darkness, but to use it as moonlight. Anxiety cannot be eradicated. It can only be understood, comprehended, accepted, and managed. Befriend your anxiety and it will cease to be your enemy!
References
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/insight-therapy/202002/why-we-feel-anxious
https://www.healthline.com/health/mental-health/how-to-cope-with-anxiety#long-term-strategies
https://pronghornpsych.com/how-does-anxiety-affect-the-brain/
https://www.drugwatch.com/health/mental-health/how-to-deal-with-anxiety/
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