1 What is Anxiety?
Dr. Nawa Raj Subba presents
1.1 What is Anxiety?
Anxiety is the body's normal response to
stress. Everyone experiences this at
some point in their lives. Anxiety is
not simply natural thinking. It is the
body's response to a perceived threat or danger. It can sometimes be scarier than
reality. It's similar to how we defend
our bodies.
In the past, our ancestors used similar steps
to defend themselves from wild creatures.
No terror like that any longer but our bodies and brains respond in the
same way to work deadlines, social needs and money. Anxiety may come in several forms like the
unwanted energy caused by an approaching major assignment, the uneasiness
experienced when traveling to a new place or the rapid pulse in a new
situation. Fear is more than simply
anxiety. These are body reactions (e.g.
heart beats faster, one starts sweating), thoughts (e.g. overthinking or being
scared), and behaviour (e.g. restless or being unable to sit down).
Anxiety is not necessarily dreadful. It is
helpful to focus on the plan or be on the track in job in certain
situations. But when the worry gets out
of hand, it can be very uncomfortable, even destructive.
1.2 Physical Symptoms
The feeling of anxiety is often experienced in
the body and thus it becomes a realistic threat. Suppose you are on the edge of a high
rock. His hands are wet, his breathing
is accelerated and his heart starts beating faster. This signal is transmitted by the amygdala of
the brain which is referred to as the fall or run reaction.
But to the anxiety sufferers, these may be
reactions even in situations of normalcy.
Common physical symptoms are:
·
Rapid heartbeats
·
Muscle stiffness and trembling.
·
Feeling hot or cold.
·
Digestive problems such as Nausea and stomach
pain.
·
To have a moderate headache and dizziness.
The mind and the body are indistinguishably
connected. Consequently, there are
outcomes on stress on the body, and stress on the mind on the body.
Under normal conditions a minor concern is
normal. Nevertheless, persistent,
unreasonable or overwhelming anxiety may be a sign of a deeper issue.
1.3 What is the amygdala?
The amygdala is a small but strong portion of the brain. It is also called Amygdala since it is almond
shaped and the name is translated to peanut in Greek.
The first objective is to ensure that there is
control of emotions, especially fear and anxiety. The amygdala quickly puts the body into an
alert state when you perceive something threatening, as in the case of a loud
bang or a dark shadow.
The body's reaction after receiving the
signal:
·
The heartbeat becomes faster.
·
Promotes faster breathing.
·
Muscles are stretched and ready.
·
Eyes enlarge and focus.
All these are collectively dubbed as fight or
flight responses.
The amygdala is, however, not always
appropriate. Not necessarily because
there is a threat in reality, a scenario may be considered a threat. This is why worry or panic can arise even in
the simplest cases in everyday life.
1.4 The Amygdala and other Parts of
the Brain: The Role.
Amygdala is a small yet potent part of the
brain. It suppresses fear and
anxiety. The amygdala immediately
informs the body when a threat arises; this is represented by symptoms like
rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath or tightness in the muscles (LeDoux,
2007).
The amygdala does not work in isolation. The prefrontal cortex is important in
regulating it. The prefrontal cortex
helps in planning, decision making and emotional control. This, in most cases, reduces undue fear or
anxiety by breaking the amygdala.
Nevertheless, the activation of the amygdala increases and the
prefrontal cortex becomes weaker in case of stress (Motzkin et al., 2015).
Besides, the bed nucleus of stria terminalis
(BNST) has also been linked to anxiety, specifically in nonspecific or chronic
anxiety, like the disturbing fear that something awful will occur later (Gungor
and Pare, 2016).
All these are similar to the amygdala, the
prefrontal cortex, the hippocampus and the BNST. They do not work in isolation;
when these are harmonized, an individual would be able to take care of his or
her worries and anxieties. Nevertheless, in case of the violation of balance,
anxiety gradually increases (Tovote et al. 2015).
1.5 Psychological and Emotional Impact.
The effect of anxiety is transpiring not only
physically, but psychologically and emotionally as well. Whenever the mind is filled with anxiety, an
individual is always caught in a thinking trap.
E.g., What suppositively could I do something wrong? or "What if it
broke?" These are some of the
commonly posed questions. Responses to
these questions are often ambiguous, but the mind has no way to stop itself.
This way of thinking is tiresome. Because of this, the individual is
emotionally weak. Even minor issues can
result in frustration, impatience or discontent.
Similarly, two types of common anxiety exist:
(a) Anticipatory Anxiety: A fear of the
negative happening in the future. As an
instance, getting stressed months before to not fail the exam.
(b) Free-flowing fear:
Being afraid of feeling insecure with no
apparent justification. Like an
ill-defined feeling that something bad is about to occur.
The long-term effects of such psychological
and emotional effects may be low self-esteem, poor judgment, and helplessness.
Having known the psychological effect of
worry, we can see that it is not merely a habit of fear but rather a biological
process of the brain.
1.6 Types of Anxiety.
Anxiety has numerous variations, and each has
a range of symptoms and challenges. The
knowledge of this is helpful in therapy and management.
Generalized anxiety disorder, as it can be
abbreviated, is a psychological problem that is typically diagnosed as
generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). The generalized anxiety disorder, which can
be abbreviated as GAD, is a mental issue which is usually diagnosed with
generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).
It is marked by chronic and devastating anxiety about numerous aspects
of daily life such as health, family, work and future. It is a minimum of 6 months of anxiety that
interferes with daily activities (Munir, 2022).
(b) Social Anxiety Disorder.
It is characterised by a fear of receiving
unfavourable feedback in social circumstances such as public appearances,
meeting new people, or speaking in groups.
This causes difficulty in social contact and relationships (Jefferson,
2001).
(c) Panic disorder.
Some people get abrupt and frequent panic
episodes. These include symptoms such as
rapid heartbeat, chest pain, shortness of breath or dizziness (Cackovic, 2023).
(d) Specific phobia.
It is excessive and irrational fear of
something or a circumstance. As an
example, we have a fear of spiders (arachnophobia), a fear of aeroplanes in
individuals (aviophobia), a fear of heights (acrophobia) (Samra, 2024).
(e)
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
It involves unwanted but regular
thoughts. OCD disorders are defined as
recurring compulsions in reaction to these ideas. Although these activities appear to relieve
anxiety, they actually increase it (Brock, 2024).
(f) Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Following a significant traumatic incident
(such as a war, accident, or violence), a person regularly recalls the events,
has terrible dreams, or want to flee the conditions around the event (Mann,
2024).
1.7 Anxiety and Stress are different.
The notions of anxiety and stress are not
interchangeable as many people make them to seem.
Stress:
Stress is a condition that is inflicted when
an individual is challenged or pressurized by a particular situation.
It is often brought by something which is
beyond one's control.
Stress is only transient and goes away once
the problem is solved or the situation has stabilised.
Example: A stressful burden as a project
deadline near.
Anxiety:
Anxiety is primarily internal and emotional.
It includes not just current issues, but also
anxiety or fantasies about what the future may contain.
Anxiety may be long-lasting and do exist even
in the absence of a particular threat.
As an illustration, when one is about to have
an exam, ask yourself all the time, What would happen in case I fail? I am stuck on that thought.
In conclusion, stress is a response to certain
states, and anxiety is an emotional instability or unexpectedness of the
reaction, which could be prolonged (Lazarus and Folkman, 1984; American
Psychological Association, 2023).
1.8 Causes of Concern
Anxiety does not appear suddenly or
spontaneously. Often, the causes behind
this stem from a mix of several circumstances.
Genetics
Anxiety disorders in the family increase the
chances of having the same problems in the family. It is also a tendency that is predisposed by
heredity (Hettema, Neale, and Kendler 2001).
Stressful life events can cause anxiety, such
as early life trauma, abuse and ongoing stress.
These experiences trigger the stress response system in the brain, which
makes people more anxious in the long-term (McEwen, 2007).
Brain Chemistry
When the levels of neurotransmitters in the
brain are not balanced, then symptoms of anxiety may appear. The lack or disproportion of
neurotransmitters including serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine is
especially an exaggeration of anxiety.
Personality
Anxiousness is more common in the case of
sensitive or fussy people. People in
this group worry too much about small things and can't handle doubt (Barlow,
2002).
To sum up, anxiety is caused by a complicated mix of genetic,
environmental, and biological factors.
1.9 Anxiety management
Anxiety is a normal part of life but it can be
dealt with. These drugs loosen the
muscles and body.
a) Relaxation Methods
Breathing techniques, meditation and deep breathing relax the
brain. Exercising also keeps the
heartbeat in check and reduces anxiety (Jerath, Edry, Barnes, and Jerath,
2006).
b) Exercise
We must keep in mind to take regular exercise
like walking or running, yoga or weight lifting boosts endorphins and serotonin
levels that boost mood. Exercise lowers anxiety over the long-term (Stonerock,
Hoffman, Smith, and Blumenthal, 2015).
c) Cut caffeine.
Excessive consumption of coffee, tea or energy
drinks may increase heart rate and anxiety.
The elimination of caffeine relaxes the body
and mind (Smith, 2002).
e) Help from
Professionals
Chronic or severe anxiety requires the
assistance of a literate psychologist or therapist. CBT modifies the negative thoughts and
behaviour of anxiety (Hofmann, Asnaani, Vonk, Sawyer, and Fang, 2012).
f). Support Network
We need to consider opening up to
the family, friends or a support group to relieve the burden. Because, the
social support eases anxiety and encourages self-confidence (Cohen and Wills,
1985).
These approaches should be used daily and
decrease anxiety and keep the mind healthy.
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