Anyone who has ever experienced significant feelings of anxiety and panic knows it is a hugely physical and uncomfortable sensation. Often, people will do anything to avoid the feelings of anxiety. Even reaching out for drugs and alcohol. Our culture supports reaching outside ourselves for solutions and anxiety is no different.
Chances are, You are Self-Soothing Around Anxiety.
Some of your solutions may be harmless enough. Some, like reaching out for alcohol and drugs are downright destructive. In an effort to soothe your feelings and manage your life more easily, you may have a tendency to lean into drugs and alcohol abuse to control your feelings and smooth out the rough edges. Most experts now believe anxiety is the underpinning issue in the area of addiction, regardless of the form (i.e. drugs, alcohol, sugar, sexual addiction, internet addictions, gaming addiction, gambling addiction, porn, food, bingeing, even over-working...all types of addictions). It makes sense you would want to feel better, but it is important to choose the right tools to self-soothe with.
You Can Unwittingly Undermine Your Well-being.
When we start reaching out for alcohol, drugs, and other excesses to manage our feelings, we can unwittingly put ourselves in a downward spiral into addiction. It can start off easily enough—a way to get on the plane, to manage to awkwardness of social situations, to ease our jitters, or just to get from one end of the day to the other. But one thing leads to another and we can end up dealing with not just anxiety, but an addiction, and the added impact of depression, physical side-effects, and the multitude of ways addictions dismantle our lives.
You are Following Healthy Impulses.
Your desire to help yourself feel better is a healthy desire and emerges from a good place within yourself. What you need are appropriate and effective tools. Not street drugs, alcohol, or behavioral addictions.
There is Good News.
Unattended to anxiety can wreck havoc in your life. The good news is there are tools you can learn now to reduce your anxiety today. The more you know about how to take care of yourself, the more effectively you can work with reducing your experience of anxiety and panic every day.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
The First Three Reasons to Take Anxiety and Panic Seriously.
1. When You are Being Overrun by Anxiety and Panic Your Life is Spinning Out of Control.
Out of control fear and anxiety is no laughing matter. Anxiety is actually a normal part of your built-in safety systems—your survival systems—and part of your “flight or fight” response. But, anxiety that is running amok is no laughing matter. Anxiety can impact every area of your life. It can impact your physical, emotional, or mental health. Some sources report panic attack and anxiety are the issue underlying up to 80% of emergency room visits. Imagine the health care cost involved here. Anxiety can impact your job security and your ability to perform your job. Out of control anxiety calls the shots in your life and leaves you overwhelmed, stressed-out, and scrambling for solutions.
2. You May Begin to Limit the Things You Do and the Places You Go.
In an effort to avoid situations that increase anxiety or create panic attack episodes, many people suffering from untreated anxiety find their lives becoming more and more limited, more and more contained. People can become imprisoned by anxiety. Suddenly, even a simple trip to the mall becomes too much to manage. People experiencing severe anxiety often find themselves struggling to accomplish daily tasks, such as going to the market or driving on the freeway.
3. Anxiety Can Lead to Increased Irritability and Explosiveness.
When you are deep into your experience of mental anxiety you may find yourself increasingly irritable and snappish. It can take all of your efforts just to manage your anxiety. Anything else, such as dealing with co-workers, children, spouses, and other drivers on the road can seem like one thing to much to deal with. You can become someone you don’t like and that no one else wants to be around. Anxiety can create isolation in a number of ways.
You Can Help Yourself Feel Better.
The more you understand about you experience of anxiety and panic, the more you can work effectively relax and balance out your life. In this blog, Holistic Anxiety & Panic 101, we will be looking at what causes anxiety and focusing on anxiety self-help education, including identifying signs of anxiety, physical symptoms of anxiety and depression, understanding what causes anxiety, and a holistic focus on easing anxiety.
Out of control fear and anxiety is no laughing matter. Anxiety is actually a normal part of your built-in safety systems—your survival systems—and part of your “flight or fight” response. But, anxiety that is running amok is no laughing matter. Anxiety can impact every area of your life. It can impact your physical, emotional, or mental health. Some sources report panic attack and anxiety are the issue underlying up to 80% of emergency room visits. Imagine the health care cost involved here. Anxiety can impact your job security and your ability to perform your job. Out of control anxiety calls the shots in your life and leaves you overwhelmed, stressed-out, and scrambling for solutions.
2. You May Begin to Limit the Things You Do and the Places You Go.
In an effort to avoid situations that increase anxiety or create panic attack episodes, many people suffering from untreated anxiety find their lives becoming more and more limited, more and more contained. People can become imprisoned by anxiety. Suddenly, even a simple trip to the mall becomes too much to manage. People experiencing severe anxiety often find themselves struggling to accomplish daily tasks, such as going to the market or driving on the freeway.
3. Anxiety Can Lead to Increased Irritability and Explosiveness.
When you are deep into your experience of mental anxiety you may find yourself increasingly irritable and snappish. It can take all of your efforts just to manage your anxiety. Anything else, such as dealing with co-workers, children, spouses, and other drivers on the road can seem like one thing to much to deal with. You can become someone you don’t like and that no one else wants to be around. Anxiety can create isolation in a number of ways.
You Can Help Yourself Feel Better.
The more you understand about you experience of anxiety and panic, the more you can work effectively relax and balance out your life. In this blog, Holistic Anxiety & Panic 101, we will be looking at what causes anxiety and focusing on anxiety self-help education, including identifying signs of anxiety, physical symptoms of anxiety and depression, understanding what causes anxiety, and a holistic focus on easing anxiety.
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