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What is Anxiety, and how common it is?

As per World Health Organization (2017), over 264 million adults suffer from anxiety that is in every 100 people 3 suffer from anxiety worldwide, it is a mental disorder in which a person starts to worry excessively, even when no danger is present around them which could affect a person’s life negatively.

 

Symptoms of anxiety:

1) Worries about health- A person with anxiety tends to worry a lot about small symptoms (illness anxiety disorder) like if they get a mole on their they start to worry whether it is cancerous or not which will be going to occupy a majority of throughout the day, a person who does not have this disorder will let it go but a person with it will face difficulty letting a worry go.
2) Sense of panic or doom- People with anxiety tends to think a lot and when come across a very threatening thought will start to feel intense panic which can result in physical symptoms like heart palpitation, sweating, and trembling.

Other symptoms of anxiety include social withdrawal & difficulty sleeping

 

Reasons why anxiety occurs:

1) Genetics- Genetics can be one of the factors that contribute to the development of anxiety, various studies were conducted which shows that anxiety runs in families, and these studies have also shown that certain variations in genes that regulate the levels of neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine have been linked to anxiety. 

2) Build-up of negative situations- When a person faces a lot of stress in life like a road fight, the family’s not getting along and other such things. All these can accumulate and result in low mood & anxiety 

3) Post Trauma- Something bad that happened in past can leave a bad effect on mental, which can lead to fear of certain things & Anxiety 

Other reasons include- Increased caffeine intake, Bad diet, Social influence & Inconsistent sleeping patterns. 

 

How to cope with Anxiety:

1) Practice deep breathing- 
Deep breathing will help you calm your nerves when you’re having a negative thought and help you see the thought rationally. 

  • STEP-1: Sir or lie down in a comfortable place.
  • STEP-2: Close your eyes and take a deep breath in through your nose, & acknowledge the fact that there is no danger and it’s just anxiety that’s bothering you.
  • STEP-3: Hold your breath for 1-2 seconds.
  • STEP-4: Slowly exhale through your mouth, till your lungs are empty.
  • STEP-5: Repeat this process, taking slow and deep breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth.
  • STEP-6: As you breathe, focus on the physical sensations of your breath, such as the rise and fall of your chest or the feeling of the air moving in and out of your nose, try to think the probability of thought occurring in real life try to see it more rationally, so you can let it go.

Practice deep breathing for 1-2 minutes every day or whenever you feel anxious.

2) Emotional Freedom Technique-
EFT also as known the tapping technique has been shown to reduce symptoms of anxiety, it involves tapping on acupressure points of your body.

Steps to practice EFT

  • STEP-1: Whenever you’re anxious identify the anxiety-provoking issue: Start by identifying the specific issue that is causing you anxiety. It could be a specific situation, a memory, a fear, or a belief.

  • STEP-2: Rate the intensity of the anxiety, which means how anxious that thought makes you on a scale of 0-10, where 0 is no anxiety and 10 is the most intense anxiety.

  •  STEP-3: Create a statement that acknowledges the issue and affirms self-love, positivity and acceptance. For example, “Even though I feel anxious about [the issue], I accept myself & I’ll try to make the best of the situation and get over it .” this will help you replace negative thoughts with positive once.

  • STEP-4: Tap on each of the acupressure points while repeating the positive statement that you’ve come up before.
    The acupressure points are-
     1)  The top of the head
     2) The eyebrow
     3) The side of the eye
     4) Under the eye
     5) Under the nose
     6) The chin
     7) The collarbone
     8) Under the arm
     9) The karate chop point on the side of the hand    .

  •  STEP-5: After a round of tapping, check in with yourself and rate the intensity of your anxiety again. If it has decreased, great! If not, repeat the process, adjusting the setup statement to reflect any changes in your feelings.

  • STEP-6: Keep tapping: Continue to tap on the acupressure points and repeat your setup statement until your anxiety has subsided.

Do this every day for a few minutes as it’ll relieve your anxiety and also replace negative thoughts with positive ones. 

For your reference, I’ve attached a video guide. 

3) Challenge your negative thoughts- 95% of thoughts we get in a day have really low probability of occurring in real life, a person without this disorder can easily let those irrational thoughts go, but a person with anxiety disorder faces hard-to-let those thoughts go.
So it’s a good idea to challenge those thoughts and explore them so the mind will see that these thoughts are irrational and should be let go.
You can download our “The Overthinking Buster Worksheet” for free it will help encounter your thought and help see them more rationally which will ultimately lower your anxiety.

4) Talk to a supportive person- Talk to someone who understands that anxiety is a serious mental disorder and helps you walk through thoughts with ease it could be your friend, mother, father anyone as anxiety weakens when someone helps you see all corners of your thoughts, or even sometimes when telling someone the thought out loud you will how irrational they were.

5) Exercise Regularly- When you exercise your body will trigger the release of endorphins, which are feel-good chemicals that can help to reduce feelings of anxiety and stress, staying fit, and healthy also improves your self-esteem which will also contribute to lowering anxiety.

6) Eat a healthy diet- Eat a balanced diet in which try to include
  1. Fruits
  2. Vegetables
  3. Food with whole grains like whole wheat bread & quinoa
  4. Lean protein such as chicken, fish, bean & tofu
  5. Healthy fats such as nuts, seeds, olive oil, fish, avocados
  6. Dairy products such as milk, yoghurt.

and reduce or eliminate trans fat intake as studies have found that consuming processed food like chips, fries and snack food containing trans fat can cause inflammation in our body, which is linked to a higher risk of depression and anxiety.
Disclaimer- This is just a general plan if you have any underlying medical condition contact a Dietitian before starting any diet routine.

Other general things that can help with your anxiety- Keep yourself busy, Sleeping enough, Limiting caffeine & petting an animal 

When to see a doctor:

It’s important to note that while there are many techniques and strategies that can be effective in managing anxiety, some people may require professional help in order to overcome their anxiety. Here are some signs that it may be time to see a doctor:

  1. If anxiety symptoms are severely interfering with your ability to work, attend school, or engage in other activities and you can’t get anything done.

  2. If your anxiety symptoms are becoming more severe over time, or if you are experiencing serious panic attacks, seek help.

  3. If you have tried self-help strategies, such as exercise, relaxation techniques, or mindfulness, and are still struggling with anxiety, it may be time to seek professional help. 

  4. Anxiety can cause physical symptoms, such as chest pain, difficulty breathing, or dizziness. If you are experiencing these serious symptoms, it’s important to seek medical attention to rule out any underlying medical conditions.



My experience:

What happened?

During the 2020 COVID lockdown, my gym was closed, and I was worried that me & my family getting infected with COVID, someone in our society got infected with COVID and passed away, which filled our life with uncertainty, I started stress eating, stopped exercising which all accumulated to me developing anxiety, for next 2 months I did nothing productive at all whenever I try to do something my negative thoughts takes my energy away.

What did I do to overcome it? 

on the third month, I decided to do something about this anxiety, first I started to talk to my friends (the good ones, not the toxic ones) which helped me distract myself from anxious thoughts, I also started doing breathing exercises, I bought resistant bands to start exercising at home, I also used write down my negative thoughts and challenge them and explore them.
Long story short I was able to reduce my anxiety to a level where I can resume my daily life, well I still have some anxiety but with a good lifestyle and including habits like practising deep breathing, and challenging a thought that is bothering me, I’ve been able to live my life to the fullest & keep it under control.

Keeping anxiety under control can be challenging but if you follow a good lifestyle with the habits we mentioned above by the time you can keep it under control and live your life to the fullest.