ANXIETY 2

Here follows the promised second instalment on Anxiety...

There are copious blogs on Anxiety. Some that I have checked out are:

Anxiety Guru - as our brain controls everything, we need to deal with our thoughts first.

"I Am Living With Anxiety" - Doug comments that: "Feelings and sensations cannot be controlled, but thoughts and impulses can be."

Home Life Simplified - offers advice on living authentically.

There are just as many sites:

www.beyondblue.org.au

www.mindhealthconnect.org.au/anxiety

www.psychology.org.au

I am an information magnet. I need to know the ins and outs of anything but of ailments in particular. The more informed about, in this case, what anxiety is, how it works and its symptoms, the more I could understand it and actually manage it.

Easier said than done, of course.

Calm Clinic and other sites like those above, retaught me that when we experience a fight of flight response, chemicals such as adrenaline and cortisol are released. This release causes our bodies to change involuntarily. Our breathing quickens. Our heart pumps faster. Our bodies prepare to fight by tensing muscles. Our awareness is heightened. All this was once necessary to fight the saber tooth tiger. Our reptilian and mammalian brains took charge.

Today our stresses are not life-threatening. Yet, our bodies react in the same way. Add in our vicious thought patterns to this stressful mix and we have anxiety. I learned that I was stuck in this survival mode. Stress can deplete our neurotransmitter levels, the one class of neurotransmitter that actually keeps the brain tranquil. So instead of needing to "fight" I needed to learn the importance of calming myself.
I needed to deal with the thoughts immediately. I did so by replacing the thoughts of doom and gloom with coping statements. Statements such as:
"This won't last forever."
"I got over this before, so I can do it now."
"I can do this."
After managing my thoughts I could add in affirmations and learn to relax and stay calm through:
* Deep breathing
* Yoga or Tai Chi
* A brisk walk around the block
* Meditation
* Focusing on a positive word or phrase
* Progressive muscle relaxation
If anxiety is in fact a learned response, as I read, something that has become a habit, then by rights, it can be unlearned.
There is hope yet.
Published By: Valdone's Leaf