What is anxiety, and how can you deal with it?

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Let's talk about ANXIETY today. Yes, for the next 10 minutes. It's going to be totally worth it.

I once had a participant attend our class, The Fear Resolve Process. This guy had been clinically diagnosed with chronic anxiety disorder, and had begun to believe he is "broken" and can not live a normal life.

Each set of The Fear Resolve Process, we give every single person a set of assessments to take, which helps us evaluate what is causing their fears, phobias, worries, and anxieties, and their unique solution path. He was no different. The class helped him uncover a lot of stuff he had stuffed up that was powering his anxiety.

By the end of the 2 days of Fear Resolve, he sent me a message thanking me for how much transformation he had experienced in such amount of time that medication could not accomplish.

As a drugless practitioner (that is, I do not give clients medications or drugs of any kind), I try to understand how the medical world tries to solve mental health problems.

In this publication, I want to try and provide you with the most important information you need to be aware of in order to notice symptoms of anxiety and to find ways to improve your mental health.

First, there’s a difference between feeling anxious and experiencing an anxiety disorder.

WHAT IS ANXIETY?

You’ve probably heard about anxiety many times, but what does it actually mean to experience it?

Anxiety is simply uncertainty about how something is going to turn out in the future.

Anxiety is a common mental health problem that refers to being in a persistent state of worry or displaying excessive amounts of fear.

Just like everyone else, you worry about things almost every time, but to suffer from anxiety means that worrying has a debilitating impact on your daily life.

Anxiety disorders, on the other hand, are the most common mental health problem in the world, with the World Health Organisation (WHO) suggesting that 1 in 13 people globally suffer from an anxiety disorder.

So if you’re dealing with anxiety disorder right now, know that you’re not alone.

Anxiety is a mental state that is related to a group of symptoms including feeling restless, panic, palpitations, spontaneous sweating and difficulty concentrating. Most commonly it is known as generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Western medicine usually treats anxiety with drugs or psychological therapies.

Can you notice the difference between the normal anxiety which everyone experiences and problematic anxiety that significantly interferes with your daily functioning?

ANXIETY IS NOT REAL! It is a game changer to realize that anxiety is nothing more than a fantasy...just a prediction about the future! But if you ruminate on it, it "feels" real and then the rest of your brain becomes defensive, reacting to a false threat.

There’s even a label for feeling anxious about being anxious: anticipatory anxiety!

4 MAIN TYPES OF ANXIETY DISORDERS

While I have made that claim up there, I need to mention that I am aware of anxiety existing as 4 main types, which are:

1. Generalized anxiety disorder
2. Social anxiety
3. Panic disorder
4. Phobias

Let me explain each one using something I read from FutureLearn as referenced below.

Generalized anxiety disorder:

This is the most common anxiety disorder, and GAD is often what people mean when they say they have anxiety. People with GAD feel anxious and worried most of the time, not necessarily as a result of being in a stressful situation. They often expect the worst-case scenario and find it hard to control these negative feelings.

This anxiety is enough to have a negative impact on their regular lives, as it causes uncontrollable worry that can make them unable to focus on what they’re meant to be doing. It can also cause problems with relationships, sleeping, eating and work. Worries do not usually relate to just one issue, but instead, relate to many aspects of a person’s life. 

Social anxiety

Social anxiety or social phobia is a disorder that causes an intense fear of being in social situations and performing in front of others. Even in normal situations that wouldn’t normally cause worry, someone with social anxiety might fear being laughed at, humiliated, attacked or judged by others. They might feel very uncomfortable being in large groups of people or being stuck with people they don’t know very well.

Some of the most common scenarios where social anxiety might strike include meeting new people, dating, public speaking, starting conversations and eating in front of people. Some of these things might sound nerve-racking, while some might not, but for someone with social anxiety, they can all feel traumatic.

Panic disorder

You’ve probably heard of panic attacks before, but you may not know that panic disorder is a mental health problem where you experience recurring and unexpected panic attacks. This can be extremely disruptive to everyday life, and each panic attack can be a really scary experience.

A panic attack often comes out of the blue and causes symptoms such as shaking, heart palpitations, hyperventilation and dizziness. Sufferers feel an immobilizing fear wash over them, and sometimes worry that they’re going to pass out or die. To ease your worries, you cannot die of a panic attack. It’s just that a high level of anxiety can make you feel like you’re in danger.

Some signs you might have panic disorder include worrying for a long period of time after having a panic attack that it might happen again, worrying that a panic attack is actually a sign of a medical problem (such as heart disease), and avoiding certain behaviours or activities that might trigger a panic attack. 

Phobias

People might often make jokes about having a phobia of something, but phobias are actually a fairly common type of anxiety disorder that need to be taken seriously. When you have a phobia of something, you’re completely terrified of it and will irrationally exaggerate any danger in your mind. 

Some people don’t even need to be near the phobic stimulus, but just the thought or sight of it on a screen might cause an excessive amount of fear or even a panic attack. Often, people with phobias know their fears are irrational, but this doesn’t prevent the feelings of anxiety.

Some of the most common phobias include aerophobia, which is a fear of flying; claustrophobia, which is a fear of enclosed spaces; and mysophobia, the excessive fear of germs and dirt particularly due to COVID.

WHAT CAUSES ANXIETY?

Anxiety is usually caused by a mixture of different things related to your personality, upbringing and life circumstances.

This is why in my work as a therapist, I do not only administer treatments to clients based "only on what they describe" because sometimes they really don't know what's going on with them.

1. Neurochemicals

Our brain chemistry plays a part. Many scientists believe that anxiety is partly caused by an imbalance of neurotransmitters in the brain, such as serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine and GABA. 

Reduced levels of serotonin have been linked to anxiety and depression, as this neurotransmitter heavily affects mood. Low amounts of dopamine can have a similar effect on anxiety, as dopamine influences the amount of energy a person has, though too much dopamine can also create feelings of paranoia. 

Norepinephrine imbalances can cause a problem because this chemical is released during the fight or flight response when the body responds to stress. Finally, Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) stops the brain from getting overstimulated and calms down the nervous system. Evidence from a 2003 study shows that low amounts of GABA can induce anxiety.

2. Childhood experiences and trauma

As with most mental health problems, negative childhood experiences or past trauma can cause anxiety disorders. In some instances, this might be a singular incident like the death of a loved one, an assault or witnessing something traumatic. Alternatively, anxiety can be caused by repeated negative experiences such as physical or emotional abuse or bullying.

Anxiety, in these instances, is often a result of your brain and body forming coping strategies to deal with traumatic events in the past. Especially when there has been a pattern of negative experiences, the brain can begin to anticipate something bad happening. This anticipation can result in persistent fear and anxiety.

It’s worth noting that you don’t need to have experienced something really bad in order to have anxiety. Many people with anxiety can’t trace it back to past events, so you shouldn’t feel like you’re exaggerating your feelings if you can’t either.

3. Current life situation

Anxiety can also be caused by the stresses of daily life. These factors may not appear to be stress-inducing, but can easily impact mental health. Things in your current life situation that can cause anxiety include money worries, relationship problems, work stress, caring for a loved one or being made redundant. 

4. Illness or injuries

Another common cause of mental health problems such as anxiety is physical illness or injury. The stress of dealing with a physical illness can really take its toll, especially when you consider the pain, financial toll and increased difficulty of doing everyday things.

5. Drugs, alcohol & medication

Sometimes, anxiety can be triggered or caused by a certain drug or too much alcohol, and so there is sometimes a link between addiction or alcoholism and anxiety. Additionally, some medications for physical or mental diseases might have side effects including anxiety.

SIMPLE SCIENTIFIC TREATMENTS

1. Stop thinking!

Yeah, that's correct!

Thinking about anxiety creates anxiety, turning off the motivation network in your brain.

Over time, you’ll end up with truckload of anxious memories, making it even harder to remain confident and calm.

But if you consciously choose to take a few minutes every time you feel distressed, to deeply relax and simply watch – with curiosity – how your anxiety works, your anxiety will diminish!

2. Yawning makes anxiety go down!

Absurd, isn't it? Well, there are now more than 60 studies showing how essential yawning is to maintain a healthy brain, and not a single one to dispute this evidence-based discovery.

Yawning decreases anxiety. It stops you from ruminating on negative thoughts and feelings. It brings greater clarity and calmness. It helps you to make better decisions to achieve your desired goals.

But there’s a trick according to Mark Robert Waldman.

Don't just yawn a few times; practice doing three slow MINDFUL yawns so that you can actually experience the subtle shift in your mood and mental state.

It brings you into the present moment, interrupting worrisome thoughts about the future.

And it’s contagious!

Do conscious yawning with a group of people and you should all experience more empathy and cooperation.

3. Writing in a diary.

In The Fear Resolve Process that I told you about earlier, journaling is a key part of the class anytime we run it as an online program. In fact, we call it The Daily Diary.

Mary Mercygrace, one of our past participants reported:

"At the end of the program, I felt bold to take hold of my finances and joined an online contribution community, opened a savings account with the help of my friend back home. I have gone back to using my daily planner diary to plan my day and this has put a buzz in my mind and increased my motivation."

Writing has the power to let you release emotions, discuss worries, and check whether your fears are rational or not. Sometimes it can really help to get your thoughts down on paper.

4. Going to bed early.

Sleep is a hugely important factor in maintaining mental health. A culture rose recently pushing for more hustle, less sleep. I have seen more entrepreneurs destroy their normal life with the adoption.

You still need 8 hours of sleep daily - no matter who you are and what you do. Even if you think you do not have sufficient time.

Note to self: Dayo, you need more sleep. 😉

5. Taking an even more individualized approach to treating your own anxiety.

If you want to understand anxiety on a deeper level, I recommend you first do an evaluation via a professional assessment (I can run a comprehensive one for you, simply reply this email to get started).

Secondly, go for therapy. And seriously, no matter how much of self-help you rely on, some things usually will go to your blind spots and you will never find them except through the eyes of a trained professional (like myself).

Third, take a course or training to master new perspectives and tools. We have some courses coming up - like The Fear Resolve Process. I'll let you know as soon as we open up registrations this month.

Rounding up...

I am sure a few new sparks are going on in your head right now.

The next step is: What will you do with all you have learnt here right now to alter your mental state and wellbeing?

Do it right now.

This is your life.

Make it count.

I am Dayo Samuel

References:

• Anxiety and Depression Association of America. (n.d.). Understand Anxiety & Depression | Anxiety and Depression Association of America, ADAA. Retrieved March 4, 2021, from https://adaa.org/understanding-anxiety
• Cherry, K. (2020, January). How Are the Most Common Phobias or Fears Treated? Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/most-common-phobias-4136563
• F. (2021, February 18). What is anxiety, and how can you deal with it? FutureLearn. https://www.futurelearn.com/info/blog/what-is-anxiety
• Lydiard, B. R. (2003). The role of GABA in anxiety disorders. PubMed. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12662130/
• Mental health statistics. (2021, January 15). MHFA Portal. https://mhfaengland.org/mhfa-centre/research-and-evaluation/mental-health-statistics/#anxiety
• Wang, T. (2020). Anxiety. Acupuncture for Brain, 219–233. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-54666-3_16