Is Your Life Being Affected By Symptoms Of Anxiety?
Monday, September 21st, 2009Most of us have felt the symptoms of anxiety I’m sure you’ve experienced a time when you were stressed or anxious. Perhaps it was during a first date or when you did something embarrassing in public. Anxiety is actually a natural response to experiences of fear or stress.
Just to be clear. Getting symptoms of anxiety is natural every once and a while and does not mean that it’s related to an anxiety disorder. People who have anxiety disorders, experience anxiety at a much higher level and might experience bouts of anxiety attacks frequently.
This isn’t to say that regular everyday anxiety can’t be linked to anxiety disorders. In reality we are all capable of developing anxiety disorders since we all share the same biological vulnerability. This vulnerability is known more commonly as the stress response.
Symptoms of anxiety can often make a bad situation worse. But sometimes it can be of benefit. Moreover, anxiety affects us all a little differently. Some may find that it’s a hindrance while other individuals may find that it can actually help.
For instance, say you’ve got your important driving theory test in two days. You don’t want to fail your test so you get in gear and prepare for it. The thought of failing motivates you into studying more. You can see how the stress response has helped you in this instance.
On the flip side, imagine your 2nd practical driving test is coming up soon. You’re worried and anxious because you don’t want to fail once again. You imagine the embarrassment and disappointment if you were to fail. The day of the test you feel jumpy, stressed and close to having an anxiety panic attack. The symptoms of anxiety in this case sabotages your performance.
The fight or flight response is pretty self-explanatory in it’s name. When the response is triggered we experience changes in our body and mind, such as heightened awareness, increased adrenaline and more strength. You can see how this can be of use in situations of danger however it also triggers when we are emotionally threatened too.
People who suffer from anxiety disorders such as Social Phobia and Panic Disorder have a hypersensitive reaction to stress and fear. Most sufferers have negative associations with certain experiences which can lead to a panic attack.
Take a person who suffers from a phobia. That particular phobia might not seem like a threat to you or I but to the sufferer it’s a real threat. Everyone forms negative associations with bad experiences. For an anxiety disorder sufferer, simply thinking about a negative experience might cause symptoms of anxiety.
The good news is that negative associations can be reversed. We can break free from negative conditioning through positive conditioning of the mind. Anyone can learn how to prevent panic symptoms and live happier and healthier.
