Anxiety Disorder
An anxiety disorder is defined by an enduring feeling of worry, stress, or fear. According to the NIMH (National Institute of Mental Health), approximately 19.1% of adults in the U.S. had an anxiety disorder within the past year, and 31.1% of adults experience an anxiety disorder at some point in their lives. When a person is anxious, the “fight-or- flight” response is activated, and if the anxiety is severe, that person can have breathing difficulty, a quickened heart rate, and, even, panic attacks. While the fight-or-flight response is not inherently bad, its prolonged stress can have detrimental consequences. Although the root of anxiety is in the mind, understanding the physical indicators anxiety can be very helpful in treating it.
The fight-or-flight response consists of muscle tension and increases in heart and breathing rates. According to the NIMH, symptoms also include restlessness, difficulty focusing, and fatigue. Blood flow is also redirected from the abdominal organs to the brain, preparing the body for an emergency. Although these physiological changes may be helpful in dire situations when someone’s life is at risk, these effects of this response can be negative when they occur unnecessarily on any given day. Furthermore, people with anxiety disorder have a greater tendency to develop other chronic conditions.
The fight-or-flight response consists of muscle tension and increases in heart and breathing rates. According to the NIMH, symptoms also include restlessness, difficulty focusing, and fatigue. Blood flow is also redirected from the abdominal organs to the brain, preparing the body for an emergency. Although these physiological changes may be helpful in dire situations when someone’s life is at risk, these effects of this response can be negative when they occur unnecessarily on any given day. Furthermore, people with anxiety disorder have a greater tendency to develop other chronic conditions.
Anxiety is not a disorder that has an easy solution, but there are many ways to help overcome its symptoms.
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It can be difficult to treat anxiety; however, there are a few methods that can help someone cope with their symptoms:
- Take a Break:
If you start recognizing feelings of anxiety, simply take a break from whatever you’re doing. Anxiety can be paralyzing; in these moments, don’t think of anxiety as something trivial that you can get rid of easily. The symptoms of anxiety are not to be taken lightly. In other words, put things aside and relax until it subsides. - Breathing exercises:
Many people with anxiety disorder may experience breathing difficulty during anxiety attacks. This may be because the chest tightens during an anxiety attack, physically preventing someone from breathing.. If this happens to you, take long, deep breaths through your stomach, not your chest. Inhale for as long as you think you can, and, then, take one last additional breath in before slowly exhaling. Perform these for as long as needed. As you do this, consciously focus on each breath, diverting your mind from thinking about the source of your anxiety. Doing breathing exercises also puts you in control of your physical self, which counters anxiety’s tendency to control your body in the form of physical symptoms. In this way, you are calming down your body through breathing, which can help calm down your mind.
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