I live with a lot of anxiety. I am anxious about most things in my life that matter to me - like health and family. I had to learn to live with it.
At the beginning of this year I had serious health issues. My blood pressure was very high and I ended up in a hospital for two weeks. After that, I was on a sick leave for whole two months. Most of this was caused by stress, which is as common as breathing these days.
My problem with anxiety was that it caused what I call cycle-effect. I become mildly anxious about something and then I get anxious more about being anxious. That goes on and on. If I measure my blood pressure, and it is moderately nigh, I become very anxious about it. Then my blood pressure rises more and more in this cycle-effect.
Being concerned about such big issues in life is not the only source. We can get anxious about very small things, things we would not even notice on a different day. If you remember last time screaming child got you mad, you will certainly remember times when you did not even notice such an event.
What types of anxiety there are:
1. Panic (general fear)
2. Social anxiety (fear of being judged)
3. Phobias (overreacting to fear)
4. General anxiety (threats that are not there)
First three types will not be covered in this post. I am not qualified enough to give any advice, and it is better to consult with proper medical expert. I can not recommend reading articles on blogs instead going to the doctor's office.
When we usually feel general anxiety:
1. Some issue in family
2. Some issue at workplace
3. Public speaking and performing
This is pretty normal, I could say human feeling. We know we are human beings if we feel nervous from time to time. If we are never nervous, we have probably damaged our amygdala or hippocampus.
Anxiety can be triggered by events that occurred in the past or are occurring now. We can even be anxious about events that never happened, such as the event we imagine will happen in the future. We can not change the things that have already happening or happened before, but we certainly can influence our imagination. When our brains start to ruminate about some scary event in the future, acknowledge it and let go.
How to let go of anxiety?
This is a hard part. If it was easy, we would just dismiss it and move on. Our brains so not work that way.
One of the ways to relieve anxiety is to engage in some activity. We will forget about our problems. This is just a temporary resolution because anxiety will most likely come back.
Another way is to use anti-anxiety medications which were prescribed by your doctor. This is also a temporary relieve, unless you plan to use them all your life.
The problems which cause anxiety does not seem to just go away, and so does anxiety. Whenever we apply temporary solution it will come back.
Obviously, to solve the initial problem is a perfect solution. You deal with what you are anxious about, solve it and move on. There are times when you just can not do it. Then what?
Only way to let go of the anxiousness is to accept it. This is easier said than done. This is why this blog post is titled "Living With Anxiety" instead of "Get Rid of Anxiety". Actually, if you manage to accept your anxiety as a part of your being, you will in a way get rid of it. If you try to fight your anxiety - you will definitely lose. You should not fight with what already is. If you are anxious - you are. You should not expect that you will not be anxious in the future. You should not expect any technique or drug relieve you of anxiety, because when it does not, you will lose faith in techniques and drugs. They will certainly fail at one point or another.
So, my "technique" is not to do anything much about it. Just observe it, see it clearly, try to pinpoint in which part of the body it inhabits and watch it. Anxiety is usually present in stomach, chest or jaw. Look for it and give it your full attention. The anxiety will not immediately go away. It could stay there for hours. With doing nothing, and concentrating on something else, like your breath, anxiety will diminish. It might come back after a few seconds or minutes. I have about 50% chance to relieve anxiety this way.
Another way is to concentrate on the present moment. You can hear the sounds and label them ("car horn", "bird", "wife vacuuming") or you can count your breath (1-2, 1-2) as you breathe in and out. This way you will ground your mind in the present moment. If it doesn't do the trick, try at the same time to feel your feet on the floor and breathe or listen. If you give your mind enough "topics" to concentrate on, it will let go of the anxiety.
To conclude, anxiety is a normal human condition. It is useless to fight it, because fighting it causes more anxiety and will fail. What you can do is to accept it and let it be. Anxiety is rooted in a number of events in what we call life. It is a part of the deal and it is quite normal to see it as a welcome guest and let it leave as soon as possible. If you didn't ever feel anxious - how could you feel calmness?
How do you deal with anxiety? Please voice in the comments section!
What types of anxiety there are:
1. Panic (general fear)
2. Social anxiety (fear of being judged)
3. Phobias (overreacting to fear)
4. General anxiety (threats that are not there)
First three types will not be covered in this post. I am not qualified enough to give any advice, and it is better to consult with proper medical expert. I can not recommend reading articles on blogs instead going to the doctor's office.
When we usually feel general anxiety:
1. Some issue in family
2. Some issue at workplace
3. Public speaking and performing
This is pretty normal, I could say human feeling. We know we are human beings if we feel nervous from time to time. If we are never nervous, we have probably damaged our amygdala or hippocampus.
Anxiety can be triggered by events that occurred in the past or are occurring now. We can even be anxious about events that never happened, such as the event we imagine will happen in the future. We can not change the things that have already happening or happened before, but we certainly can influence our imagination. When our brains start to ruminate about some scary event in the future, acknowledge it and let go.
How to let go of anxiety?
This is a hard part. If it was easy, we would just dismiss it and move on. Our brains so not work that way.
One of the ways to relieve anxiety is to engage in some activity. We will forget about our problems. This is just a temporary resolution because anxiety will most likely come back.
Another way is to use anti-anxiety medications which were prescribed by your doctor. This is also a temporary relieve, unless you plan to use them all your life.
The problems which cause anxiety does not seem to just go away, and so does anxiety. Whenever we apply temporary solution it will come back.
Obviously, to solve the initial problem is a perfect solution. You deal with what you are anxious about, solve it and move on. There are times when you just can not do it. Then what?
Only way to let go of the anxiousness is to accept it. This is easier said than done. This is why this blog post is titled "Living With Anxiety" instead of "Get Rid of Anxiety". Actually, if you manage to accept your anxiety as a part of your being, you will in a way get rid of it. If you try to fight your anxiety - you will definitely lose. You should not fight with what already is. If you are anxious - you are. You should not expect that you will not be anxious in the future. You should not expect any technique or drug relieve you of anxiety, because when it does not, you will lose faith in techniques and drugs. They will certainly fail at one point or another.
So, my "technique" is not to do anything much about it. Just observe it, see it clearly, try to pinpoint in which part of the body it inhabits and watch it. Anxiety is usually present in stomach, chest or jaw. Look for it and give it your full attention. The anxiety will not immediately go away. It could stay there for hours. With doing nothing, and concentrating on something else, like your breath, anxiety will diminish. It might come back after a few seconds or minutes. I have about 50% chance to relieve anxiety this way.
Another way is to concentrate on the present moment. You can hear the sounds and label them ("car horn", "bird", "wife vacuuming") or you can count your breath (1-2, 1-2) as you breathe in and out. This way you will ground your mind in the present moment. If it doesn't do the trick, try at the same time to feel your feet on the floor and breathe or listen. If you give your mind enough "topics" to concentrate on, it will let go of the anxiety.
To conclude, anxiety is a normal human condition. It is useless to fight it, because fighting it causes more anxiety and will fail. What you can do is to accept it and let it be. Anxiety is rooted in a number of events in what we call life. It is a part of the deal and it is quite normal to see it as a welcome guest and let it leave as soon as possible. If you didn't ever feel anxious - how could you feel calmness?
How do you deal with anxiety? Please voice in the comments section!
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