Anxiety And How To Deal With It

Have you ever experienced or being in a situation where you have had feelings such as nervousness or restlessness, where you can say you were nervous? Such feelings are a result of anxiety. Whether it was during an exam, before an interview, or while experiencing a traumatic event, every person has had their share of anxiety.

Anxiety is the fear or nervousness about what might happen. It is distress or uneasiness of mind caused by a fear of danger or misfortune. It is your brain's way of reacting to stress and alerting you of perceived danger.

Though anxiety is experienced by all including children, every person has his/her moments. For some, it lasts for a short period, in others, it may last for days, months, even years. People whose moments of anxiety last longer can be said to have an Anxiety Disorder.

Anxiety Disorder is a disorder in which anxiety is the most prominent disturbance. Some of which include Panic Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and Social Anxiety Disorder.

What Causes Anxiety?

Anxiety is mostly caused by stress as I earlier stated. If you’re going through a stressful event, or experiencing stress at work, school, in your relationships, or even in your finances, that’s probably what triggers your anxiety. It could also be genetics, maybe one of your parents suffers from it. Anxiety is also caused by trauma, such as the death of a loved one, verbal, physical, or sexual abuse, or having a traumatic experience. Remember, Perceived danger.

What Are The Symptoms Of Anxiety?

Whether you have an anxiety disorder or just experience anxiety occasionally, which is normal, during your moments of anxiety, you might notice rapid heartbeats, restlessness, and shortness of breath. Like you're sitting for an exam and your hands are shaking and you suddenly feel like going to pee or have a runny tummy. Or you have a big day tomorrow and you just can't bring yourself to sleep. Or you find yourself sweating in an air-conditioned room, you could be going through anxiety, except you are sick. Surprisingly, OCD is also a symptom of anxiety.

Approximately 8% of children and teenagers experience an anxiety disorder with most people developing symptoms before age 21.

According to the World Health Organization, 1 in 13 people globally suffers from anxiety.

The World Health Organization reports that anxiety disorders are the most common mental disorders worldwide with specific phobia, major depressive disorder, and social phobia being the most common anxiety disorder.

How To Deal With Your Anxiety?

Firstly, I'll recommend a licensed therapist, which could be expensive but hey! Mental health matters! There are also ways you can deal with your anxiety by yourself.

LIVE HEALTHY: I shouldn’t stress on this so much, I mean you know how important your health is. You shouldn’t wait to be told to do so but just in case you do, avoid alcohol and any form of drugs recreation, stop smoking and you should reduce or stop your intake of caffeinated or energy drinks. And don’t forget to get enough sleep unless you’ll find yourself sinking in anxiety.

MEDITATION: And by this, I mean introspection. Reviewing your thoughts and actions of the day which you can do by journaling and try to be consistent. Be knowledgeable about your anxiety and what triggers it. You could try yoga too, it's relaxing.

REACH OUT: Get support, get together with friends and as much as possible, try to do things that scare you. If the number of things that frighten you is reduced, the chances of you getting anxious are reduced too.

Anxiety is one big hindrance to our mental health. Anxiety is stressing too much about things. It is overthinking and overanalyzing simple issues and putting up with it, is draining and unhealthy. So the next time you feel that spark of anxiety coming up, with the shaking hands and feet, profused sweating and restlessness, dealing with it won’t be so hard anymore.