Anxiety and Anxiety related disorders
Anxiety therapy | Anxiety related disorders counselling | WIMBLEDON
Anxiety is what we experience when we are afraid, worried or tense. Although anxiety can have a very negative impact on your relationships, ability to work, health and quality of life, it is important to remember that some level of anxiety is functional, and it allows us to respond appropriately to certain situations.
In fact, anxiety becomes a problem when it is experienced on a regular basis and the severity of the symptoms have a significant impact on the individual’s daily life functioning.
The constant heightened state of stress, apprehension or worry characteristics of the experience of anxiety, can be described as very close to the experience of fear. However, one of the main difference between these two experiences is that anxiety occurs even when there is not an actual danger.
Understanding Anxiety
The Fight or Flight response
When we believe to be in danger, regardless of whether the danger is real or imagined, our bodies react to the threat giving rise to important physiological changes. This innate, natural physiological response is called the fight or flight response and its main purpose is to keep us safe enabling us to response accordingly to threat (e.g. to be ready to fight or run away). In other words, this response is our body way to alert us of danger and prepare us for action.
When the fight or flight response is activated, three main systems come into play, physical, cognitive and behavioural.
1. Physical system:
When we believe to be in danger, our body undergoes through some temporary but significant physiological changes to enable us to either be ready to fight or run away. The brain does not distinguish real from perceived threat, so as soon as we believe to be in danger, our autonomic nervous system is called into action.
The autonomic nervous system is composed of two branches: the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system. The sympathetic nervous system is responsible for the physiological changes that enable us to be ready for action by releasing stress hormones, adrenaline and cortisol.
The physical changes caused by the fight or flight response are:
Increased heart rate and strength of beat
Changes to blood flow
Increased depth and rate of breathing
Sweating
Wider pupils
Decreased digestive system activity
Muscular tension
The whole bodily response to threat described above, very often leaves the individual feeling quite tired or even exhausted.
2. Cognitive system:
These physiological changes are real, we perceive them in our body and our brain very often ends up over-interpreting these symptoms which result in increasing the level of anxiety. As you can imagine, this may create a vicious cycle where anxiety is fuelled and maintained by the very presence of these physical sensations which very often may lead to panic.
3. Behavioural system:
The instinctive actions most associated with the fight or flight response are a strong need to escape or engaging in aggressive behaviour. These behaviours often contribute to maintaining the problem going.
The end of the Fight or Flight response
Once the immediate threat vanishes, the body activates other systems in order to go back to a more relaxed and less stressed state. The autonomic nervous system comes in to play again, only that this time is the parasympathetic nervous system to become activated to counteract the sympathetic system.
The activation of the parasympathetic system results in a decrease in strength and rate of the heartbeat, breathing rate also slow down, muscle starts to relax and overall body temperature begins to lower.
However, it is important to keep in mind that it does take a little bit of time for the body to be restored back to a more relaxed and less heightened state and some of the effects of the fight or flight response gradually decrease.
What are the main symptoms of anxiety and anxiety related disorders?
The most common symptoms of anxiety include:
Apprehension
Excessive and prolonged worry
Fear
Feeling like you are going crazy
Imaging the worst
Feeling pessimistic
Avoiding situations or people
Isolation
Headaches
Pain and aches
Physical/muscular tension
Feeling irritable
Heart palpitations
Sweating
Shortness of breath
Feeling light-headed
Diarrhoea
Nausea
Having problem sleeping
Feeling restless
Having panic attacks
Feeling on edge
What causes Anxiety?
Every person is unique and the factors that can cause anxiety or anxiety related disorders can vary. Research suggests that both biological - inherited genetically - as well as psychological factors - past or childhood experiences, life circumstances, lifestyle and stressors - can contribute to the development of anxiety.
However, there is not enough research evidence on whether anxiety issues can be inherited genetically, therefore is not clear whether a person develop anxiety related difficulties because there is a genetic component that contribute to make us more vulnerable to developing anxiety, or because growing up we learned specific ways of thinking and behaving from our primary caregivers and other important people in our life.
In fact, the kind of lifestyle of the individual, their life circumstance as well as the kind of stressors and experiences in their early years are suggested to have a huge impact on whether or not the individual will experience anxiety related difficulties. Growing up we might have learned to fear specific situations or events for different reasons e this might have resulted in us developing unhelpful behaviours or thinking patterns in order to cope with such situations which may contribute to the development on anxiety related difficulties.
Every person is unique and therefore what triggers anxiety may differ significantly from individual to individual. However, common triggers to anxiety and anxiety related disorders include:
Automatically interpreting (or over interpreting) bodily sensations
Food intolerances
Caffeine
Unhelpful thinking patterns and thought processes.
therapy for anxiety
Psychotherapy is highly effective in the treatment of anxiety. There are different therapies that have proven to be effective in the treatment of anxiety such as
CBT is one of the most used therapy in the treatment of anxiety. This model of therapy starts from the assumption that you can change the way you feel by changing the way you think.
CBT looks at the thoughts that trigger and maintain anxiety. Working together with a qualified mental health professional, you will become skilled in recognise and understand the thoughts that trigger your anxiety as well as how these relate to and influence your feelings and behaviours. You will learn useful tools and skills to break the vicious cycle that contributes to maintain your anxiety going.
Furthermore, it is very important you take good care of yourself and your mental and physical health on a day to day basis. Mindfulness and breathing exercises and practice are very effective tools in reducing your level of stress and anxiety by calming your nervous system.
What are the most common anxiety disorders?
Generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) – characterised by having constant or uncontrollable worries in your day to day life. In GAD worries are usually about many different things.
Panic disorder – characterised by having frequent - or regular - panic attacks. These would often appear to not have a clear trigger.
Social anxiety disorder – characterised by experiencing extreme anxiety or fear triggered by social situations.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) – characterised by experiencing anxiety symptoms after going through an event that you found traumatic.
Phobias – characterised by experiencing extreme - often irrational – anxiety or fear triggered by a particular object or situation.
Health related anxiety – characterised by experiencing extreme anxiety, obsessions and/or compulsions that are related to illness.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) – characterised by having repetitive thoughts, behaviours or urges.
To know more about anxiety and its treatment or to book an appointment please contact me.
