Anxiety is one of the most prevalent struggles that people show up to therapy with, and oftentimes wanting to get rid of the anxiety. Although many clients take medication to help manage the anxiety, the challenge is that the core problems still exist. It’s important to understand anxiety as a whole, why it happens in the first place and why it occurs when it does, whether it’s every day or chronically.
What is Anxiety?
Just like a fever when you’re sick, anxiety is a warning system of the body, not the problem itself. Something needs to be attended to, mentally or emotionally, and anxiety shows up in the body as symptoms. It could present as emotional distress, ruminating over one particular thing, racing thoughts, difficulty sleeping, difficulty focusing, hypervigilance, or the inability to disconnect from constant worries.
Physiological Symptoms of Anxiety
Sometimes anxiety presents as physiological symptoms, such as increased heart rate, sweating, shallow breathing, or muscle tension. Polyvagal theory is the study of the physiological shifts in the body. The vagus nerve is part of the autonomic nervous system, so when we feel threatened, a perceived or actual threat, there is a physiological shift and we move into an activated state, fight or flight. When you have a busy day or a lot going on, you shift into effective activation – this is your anxiety motivating you to get things done, and when you get through it, you return to a normal, calm state. But if your anxiety is a more fear-based threat, that’s what leads to chronic anxiety and needs to be tended to.
Symptoms vs. Cause
A lot of the time you read, or therapists say, that exercise, slowing down, or spending time in nature can help minimize anxiety. People often make themselves really busy in order to cope with anxiety. Staying busy during the day creates a distance between racing thoughts, but when it’s time to go to bed, it makes it difficult at night to calm those thoughts, which leads to sleep issues. While these are tools to help you feel better and manage intense emotions as they arise, they are not in and of themselves the solution.
This is why reframing anxiety and seeing it as a warning sign can be helpful. The body is telling you something is there and needs to be addressed. It might be inconvenient, but it generally doesn’t go away. If we see anxiety as a warning sign rather than something that needs to be ignored or shoved down, we can slow down and look within ourselves. We need to spend our energy to see what’s going on and address more of the core issues that are causing the anxiety in the first place. Where is this anxiety coming from? There might be literal ways to solve the problem. Talk to a therapist or friend to help figure out what’s going on under the surface.
Find Relief from Anxiety and Feel Better
The stress and anxiety we carry can come from a lot of sources – current things happening in our life, the world around us, and unresolved issues from the past. It’s hard to determine where it’s all coming from, and can take time and work. A therapist can help you explore where the anxiety is coming from, whether it’s unresolved trauma or your current life, and how that is showing up with the current situation. Therapy can help you figure how to cope with the past and deal with current stuff, learning to address what has accumulated and what you’re holding on to. It teaches you the skills you need to cope and manage yourself going forward so you can address the root cause of anxiety and not solely manage the symptoms.
If you are struggling with anxiety, I can empower you to look within and develop a deeper relationship with yourself, so you can figure out what’s going on and move forward. You deserve to feel better and find inner peace. Contact Becky online to start your journey of discovery and healing.
