Anxiety: Common and Uncommon Varieties
Drug & alcohol abuse is one catalyst that can cause serious anxiety
Anxiety is a complicated emotional and physiological response to stress, confusion, uncertainty, threat or danger. It can be constructive, alerting us to potential harm and triggering the chemical reactions our bodies need to respond quickly to a threat. The physiological response is part of our inherited stress response. While the senses register “threat,” the emotional response is fear/alert” and the body simultaneously prepares us to escape, fight or freeze. Unfortunately, in contemporary daily life, there is often no realistic, complete outlet for this preparation and the experience of anxiety can become a problem interfering with normal functioning and comfort.
Problematic anxiety manifests as physical and psychological symptoms. Anyone can experience anxiety. People who suffer with it to an unusual degree may be genetically or environmentally predisposed to it, or may have a biochemical imbalance that randomly triggers its symptoms. Some individuals have survived challenging or traumatic events and now carry a highly sensitive “internal alarm.” Others were “taught” to be hypervigilent by adults who were punitive, unreliable or who themselves modeled fearful living. Symptoms of anxiety may include: a sense of panic; dizziness; difficulty in breathing; skipping or racing pulse; sweating; trembling; chills or hot flushes; choking sensation; tingling or numbness; feeling detached, disoriented or bewildered; nausea or diarrhea; sleep difficulties and avoidance behaviours. Fears typically accompany anxiety. They may include may include fear of heart attack; going “insane;” losing control; embarrassment; death; illness; causing harm to yourself or another; fainting; being incompetent; being alone. These physical symptoms and associated fears create a vicious cycle of physical and emotional torment. Frequent, intense and debilitating anxiety responses may lead to a medical diagnosis of “anxiety disorder.” This term includes panic attack, agoraphobia, specific phobias, obsessive-compulsive behaviours and posttraumatic stress. If you or someone you know experiences impairing anxiety reactions, take heart.
Help and resources are available and effective. Treatment for unusually severe anxiety may involve stabilization of the metabolic core with anti-anxiety medications; overcoming and desensitizing associated phobias; managing psychosocial and environmental stresses; and the learning of long-term coping skills. Effective counselling interventions may include approaches from cognitive/behavioural therapies to improve thinking and doing in life; stress management and relaxation skills; and desensitization and processing therapies (EMDR, Somatic Experiencing, Body Work, etc.) that reduce or extinguish the physical chemistry and body symptoms. Less severe symptoms can often be treated through basic life changes and enhanced life skills. These can include the following:
Basic stress management: Do less, rest more; organize and prioritize; delegate and get support; proper nutrition; exercise and activity; supportive work, social and personal relationships; constructive problem-solving; skill development.
Relaxation techniques: Techniques such as Yoga, Tai Chi, Autogenics, meditation, deep breathing, visualization or physical massage are effective antidotes to stress and anxiety. They promote healthy physiology and provide a sense of calm and well-being.
Re author negative, irrational thoughts: Our emotions are strongly correlated with our perceptions and interpretations. Tune in to your internal dialogue at or just before moments of anxiety. Identify negative, self-defeating or fearful thoughts and replace
them with supportive self-talk.
Exercise: Exercise provides a natural physical outlet for the stimulating chemistry of anxiety. In addition, the chemical endorphins released by exercise act as a natural tranquilizer and stress reducer.
Faith and spirituality: A personal and/or communal sense of spirituality becomes a resource for tranquility, guidance and abiding faith during times of duress or adversity.
Medication: Anti-anxiety medication can reduce severe anxiety symptoms that impair normal functioning. Usually, medication is a temporary tool to stabilize body chemistry and allow personal change and enhanced coping to work.
Design your recovery plan: Adopt a compassionate, patient attitude WITH yourself. Take credit for your successes. Before overreacting to anxiety, be curious: Are you tired? Hungry? Lonely? Experiencing change? Address the underlying issues and the anxiety as well. Keep a journal. You may discover a positive direction within your pattern of anxiety.
There are supportive and accessible resources available to help you. If your symptoms are severe, start with your physician. A physician or psychiatrist familiar with treatment for anxiety can help determine if medication is appropriate. A clinical counsellor or psychologist with training in treatment for anxiety can provide a therapeutic context for cognitive and behavioural change, stress management, relaxation skills, goal planning, desensitization and personal introspection. It is possible for each of us to live our full potential in spite of anxiety. By looking beneath the fear and channeling the energy of anxiety, we ultimately
discover our desire and means to live and thrive.
Written By Beth Helsley M.Ed., RCC