Anxiety 101
: Stress is a normal life experience for every living being on our planet. Essentially, stress is our body and brain’s natural reaction to threats in our environment. A fish hides from predators in the coral. A zebra runs away from the lion. A bee stings an intruder in the hive. Humans fight or run or freeze in response to dangers in our environment just the same.
However, human brains are complex and advanced. While our technology and lifestyles have changed dramatically, our more primitive areas of our brain responsible for our survival mechanisms- remain unchanged. The consequence? Humans feel threatened by a lot of things that don’t necessarily impact our safety or survival. When this fear becomes constant, overwhelming, or is outsized to the situation- it becomes what we call an Anxiety Disorder.
Anxiety is essentially our brain and body’s natural survival mechanisms on overdrive, which is not a state that we are meant to live in. The constant stress of an anxiety disorder can also lead to depression- as anxiety often limits our ability to engage comfortably with the world around us, leading to isolation and negative judgement about ourselves. Anxiety disorders also frequently cooccur with physical ailments like headaches, stomach or digestive issues, and asthma.
The most frequent forms of anxiety that my clients often seek out help with are: constant worrying, feeling “on edge” or irritable, having intense bouts of panic, having strong emotional reactions to or being strongly avoidant of conflict, and feeling “stuck” in negative self-talk loops.
Have you ever experienced any of those things? You’re not alone. Anxiety is unfortunately very common. The good news is that it is very treatable, and many people find that with therapy, medication, lifestyle changes, or other holistic therapies, that they are able to reduce their anxiety and live a fuller life.
Have you ever struggled with anxiety? What do you want others to know about what it’s like? Let’s talk in the comments!
