Everyone faces anxiety but it becomes troublesome when worry becomes excessive or irrational. There is a social norm amongst many of us of ‘putting a face on’ despite how you feel, trying to hide your true feelings that affect us pretending that it doesn’t matter enough to talk about. Everyone feels anxious at some point and it’s a normal human emotion to protect from potential danger and threat. But people with anxiety feel worry in excessive intensity and for unusual reasons. In short, it magnifies the threat one’s facing while minimizing one's capability to cope with it.

Anxiety is a human emotion that causes a person to feel uneasiness, fear, and excessive worry. It increases the alertness to the potential yet irrational danger. It causes a person to always feel on the edge as a result of the fight or flight stimulus. Hence, making it burdensome to do daily life activities. Like getting out of bed, showing up at work, and maintaining basic hygiene. People who have lived through emotional neglect, abuse, or other traumatic experiences like losing loved ones are more likely to develop it.

 SYMPTOMS AND CAUSES:

How to know if you have anxiety? If you relate to 3 or more symptoms mentioned below then you should consult with a psychologist for anxiety. Symptoms of anxiety disorders may include:

Ø Anxiety causes a hormonal rush due to a fight-and-flight response that can leave you feeling exhausted and drained. With their body and subconscious mind overwhelmed with worrisome thoughts, the person can feel deprived of energy which ultimately leads to irritability and fatigue in the body.

Ø Having a sense of impending danger, panic, or doom like something terrible is going to happen.

Ø Trouble concentrating or making decisions. Paranoid thoughts like everyone’s ‘watching’ me or laughing at me.

Ø Having angry outbursts or other extreme reactions.

Ø Anxiety affects our bowel habits more than we think. Some people experience urgency and an increase in the frequency of urination. While some may experience diarrhea due to anxiety.

Ø Having heart palpitations, sweating, or shaking.

Ø Negative beliefs about themselves or others due to poor self-esteem and negative self-image.

Ø Trouble sleeping due to rush of thoughts.

Ø Substance use and social isolation due to lack of energy.

Ø Poor hygiene due to lack of self-worth and energy to maintain basic hygiene.

I have listed down a few forms of anxiety so that everyone feels included despite having anxiety in different forms.

TYPES OF ANXIETY DISORDERS:

Anxiety exists in different forms in different individuals. Here is a collective summary of different forms of anxiety.

·Generalized anxiety disorder (constant, irrational, and excessive worry about daily activities or events).

·Panic disorder (panic attacks and fear of continued panic attacks)

·Social anxiety disorder (It is the fear of being negatively judged by others that might make the person feel humiliated, embarrassed, rejected, or laughed at)

·Separation anxiety disorder (Irrational fear or worry about being separated or abandoned from people with whom the person has a deep emotional bond), is usually experienced by people who were neglected or rejected by their parents in childhood.

·Obsessive-compulsive disorder: It is a chronic disorder in which the person has unwanted thoughts and repetitive behaviors to settle the worrisome thoughts. These intrusive thoughts do not settle by logic or reasoning.

·PTSD (Post-traumatic disorder): Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder that develops when a person has witnessed a traumatic, shocking, frightening, or life-changing event. Like rape, sexual abuse, losing a loved one, natural disaster, or serious health concerns.

TREATMENT:

These are the treatment options one can avail to cope with anxiety but it is important to keep in mind that it is a slow process but, in the end, it is worth it.

THERAPY:

I recommend this one because let's be real a friend can’t take the place of a professional therapist. No matter how good a listener the friend is, in the end, therapists are professionally trained for years to deal with mental health issues. I have personally tried cognitive behavioral therapy and DBT techniques and trust me it is irreplaceable. It works slowly and takes a lot of sessions for progress but it is worth it at the end.

 SOCIAL SUPPORT: 

Connecting socially is as important as embracing solitude. Taking help from close ones and sharing vulnerability with trustworthy people helps you to reconnect with yourself, decrease the intensity of rushing thoughts, and increase the sense of acceptance of your emotions.

JOURNALLING:

Journalling helps more than you think. Once you write down your rushing thoughts and reflect on them, it helps you to understand your thoughts and change the pattern of anxious thinking. Indeed, it keeps one sorted and helps in decision-making.

PRACTICING GRATITUDE:

Gratitude is not about thinking “other people had it worse’’ and moving on with the good things in life. But in contrast, it is about not comparing your emotions and reactions to anyone with the utmost validation, because validation is the key to self-compassion. Gratitude is about validating your emotions and picking up the remaining pieces to rewrite your story with the positive attributes in your life.

TAKE THE CHARGE:

Let go of what happened. Release the negative energy off your shoulder. Let go of what you cannot control while focusing on the things in your control. It is the most logical yet powerful technique to take control of anxiety.

CONCLUSION:

Anxiety, no doubt is an extremely overwhelming emotion that creeps away the energy from mind and soul. It is important to acknowledge that anxiety comes with chunky baggage and you are not alone in this. Slow steps and efforts lead to the metamorphosis. Progress needs a leap of faith and a pinch of determination to not give up for yourself.