Anxiety

Panic attacks can be very debilitating, with symptoms of racing heart, feeling weak or faint, tingling or numbness in hands/fingers, sense of terror, feeling sweaty/having chills, chest pains, breathing difficulty, and more. For a person amid a panic attack, perceptions or worries of dying are likely a common thought. The good news, is that a person cannot simply die from solely having a panic attack. Although panic attacks alone are not deadly, they can be dangerous if paired with an illness such as a heart condition, for example, because the stress may make the condition worse. However, heart conditions develop over time, and those who suffer from a heart condition can be evaluated by a doctor for symptoms of stress and to rule out any problems they may have. Hyperventilation, a condition in which the person breathes very fast, upsetting the balance of their breath, may happen during a panic attack. While not deadly, this condition may make the person feel like fainting or passing out because hyperventilation blocks blood flow to the brain. If someone experiences this, they can recover quickly by belly-breathing. Belly-breathing is when the individual places their hand on their stomach, just below their ribs. They place the other hand on their chest, taking a deep breath in through the nose, and out through pursed lips, moving their hand down with each breath. After the individual does this 3-10 times they should feel their breath resuming normal breathing patterns. Another technique is for the person to breathe into a brown paper bag – this causes the person to re-inhale the carbon dioxide that they exhaled, restoring that lost gas. If someone is suffering from a panic attack, there are several effective ways to work through this:

Discussions of anxiety and depression often go hand in hand. For example, symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder can include depression and anxiety. Bipolar disorder is characterized by alternating moods of depression, a bipolar-specific depression, and mania, which can include anxiety. Withdrawal from drugs and alcohol can include symptoms of both depression and anxiety. Signs and symptoms of any mental health disorder usually includes talks of either depression or anxiety, or both. Even more complicated is the fact that anxiety can be a symptom of depression and however closely related or closely discussed anxiety and depression might be, they are two completely different mental health disorders, symptomatic experiences, and diagnoses.

No two diagnoses of mental illness are exactly alike because no two people experiencing mental illness are exactly alike. Everyone has a different history, different genealogy, different life experiences, different brain chemistry, which contribute to their mental illness. Anxiety isn’t the same in everyone who has anxiety. While each person will have their own experience of anxiety, they will also have many similarities with others. Likewise, people with anxiety can learn similar techniques to manage their anxiety, though the specifics will be different for each person. All of the unique differences in one case of anxiety to the next is what makes it essential for each individual to learn as much as they can about their personal experience of anxiety. First, it is important to learn about anxiety as a mental illness- the way it functions in the brain, the way it affects the body, and the reason anxiety exists. Next, it is important to learn about your personal experience with anxiety. If you are seeking treatment for your anxiety disorder, you will do an extensive amount of introspection and reflection while working with your personal therapist and using therapeutic techniques for healing, like cognitive behavioral therapy. You’ll be able to identify what triggers your anxiety the most, recognize how your anxiety feels in your body, what anxiety sounds like in your head, and most importantly, you’ll discover what helps you effectively reduce your anxiety. Mindfulness based stress reduction techniques are proven to help with reducing the symptoms of anxiety. MBSR is a practice of its own. Mindfulness has also spread to other areas of therapy, like a newly created mindfulness-based cognitive behavioral therapy. The practice of mindfulness is neither new nor novel. Mindfulness has been practiced for a very long time by ancient cultures and religions. However, the core of mindfulness practice is non theistic, meaning mindfulness itself is a practice without a higher power. The power of mindfulness lies in the power of noticing. Most people are unaware of how little they notice during the day. Mindfulness is rooted in developing awareness in order to pay attention and notice more about the world. Becoming present with immediate surroundings and realistic thoughts helps disengage the intrusive, future thinking thoughts of anxiety, thereby reducing the stress.

Relationships aren’t supposed to cause anxiety. No relationship is perfect. Couples learn how to argue in healthy ways because it isn’t healthy to be in total agreement without any conflict at all. Communication, understanding, and using tools for finding solutions are what helps couples stay together to reconcile their differences. When a mental illness is present in a relationship, simple maintenance routines like communication and understanding can be difficult. People have all different kinds of experiences in their life and in their relationships which cause them to have anxiety within their relationships. For example, adults who experienced divorce through their parents at a young age have a certain kind of anxiety. To them, the law has been programmed into their brains that you can never know when a partner might leave, when they are lying, or when a fight is going to lead to separation. Relationship anxiety can be caused by abuse, abandonment, and neglect, as well as just the presence of an anxiety disorder. People who are struggling with other mental illnesses might have relationship anxiety because of the shame and stigma associated with their mental illness. They feel that their mental illness makes them unlovable and that anyone would be right to want to leave them. You can tell if you are struggling with the pressures of relationship anxiety by developing a mindful awareness of your thoughts. If you’re in treatment, or considering going to treatment for a mental health disorder, mindfulness will become a major part of your recovery. Mindfulness gives you the ability to non-judgmentally observe your thoughts by noticing your behaviors, paying attention to the circumstances, and becoming aware of what is going on in your mind at the time. You might notice things like:

Anxiety disorders are mental health conditions that affect the mind and the body. When you experience a panic or anxiety attack, you are experiencing the full psychosomatic manifestation of the anxiety in your mind all throughout your body. Symptoms of the heart During a severe anxiety attack or a panic attack, it can feel as though you are experiencing the symptoms of a heart attack. Most often, there will not be the left-side symptoms specific to an actual heart problem. If you start experiencing numbness or tingling down your left arm, shoulder, or jaw, contact your doctor. Common symptoms include feeling tightness in the chest. Beyond just feeling chest restriction, it can often feel like the chest is being clamped together or that there is a heavy weight being placed on the chest. Increased heart rate happens due to the adrenaline and cortisol pumping through the blood as a result of the fight or flight system kicking in. Growing anxiety or panic can also result in a pounding heart, feeling heart palpitations, and a high heart rate. Symptoms of the body Adrenaline and cortisol are stress hormones which encourage the body to take action in the face of real or perceived threats. Without any action these stimulating hormones can cause feelings of uneasiness like trembling and shaking, as well as discomfort like nausea, dizziness, upset stomach, lightheadedness, or feeling like you are about to faint. Other physical symptoms can include experiencing some numbness, tingling in the limbs, sweating, chills, or even a hot flash like a sudden fever. Symptoms of the lungs Anxiety is known to cause people to feel like they can’t breathe. Sensations of not being able to breathe can come from the tightening of the chest sensations, making it feel as though there is no way to take a deep breath. As a result, you feel a shortness of breath which can cause psychological sensations of not getting enough air, feeling smothered by your environment, or experiencing some kind of choking.

Anxiety is one of the leading mental health disorders in the United States. Eighteen percent of the adult population will struggle with an anxiety disorder at some point in time. The New York Times recently wrote about the “American Anxiety” currently taking over the country. Due to tense political times, high levels of stress, a challenging economy, and a difficult job market, more people are living with anxiety, clinical or not, than ever before. “For the past decade or so,” the author describes, “American anxiety was usually described as either a mental-health issue or a generational style.” Today, as mental health disorders gain critical awareness, people are becoming more mindful of how their interactions with everyday American life, from politics to work, are affecting them and causing them what the article describes as “profound unease.” What people are experiencing, the article explains, is an emotion of anxiety and uneasiness, rather than an empirically analytical form of anxiety. “Even if they have incoherent or contradictory senses of why, or what it is they fear, or what should be done about it,” people today are experiencing more dis-ease than they have in recent times. Anxiety as a symptom and a mental health disorder revolves around fear of the unknown, which becomes irrational and uncontrollable. “Anxiety, after all, need not be rational, need not be coherent, can contain multitudes,” the author writes. “It’s possible to be anxious about things that will almost certainly never affect you; it's possible for anxiety to prevent you from accurately assessing danger and making plans to address it.”  Problematically, the sense of security many people have had in the systems, policies, processes, and procedures of the past is not the promise of the future. Everything today, in exaggeration and inaccuracy, is unsteady. Trust lies in a place the article characterizes as “more disordered, irrational and human.” Overcoming anxiety about the current national climate will be a national effort, perfectly synchronized with a nationwide initiative to raise awareness and support treatment for mental health.

One of the easiest ways to cause ourselves anxiety is to set expectations that are way too high. New year’s resolutions are often a time people do this for themselves. The start of a new year can make you feel like you are on top of the world with a host of new opportunities. January 1 is just another day, like the day before, and the day after. It is important to continue taking care of yourself. The ultimate new year’s resolution when living with anxiety would be to stay committed to self-care and anxiety management. There is no reason to feel pessimistic about the new year as if nothing can change. Just because someone is living with anxiety does not mean they are not capable of creating new routines and habits. How those routines and habits are embarked upon is the difference. Each day is like starting a new year. You always have a chance to change direction, shake it off, and start anew. Here are some basic new year’s resolutions if you are living with anxiety to help prepare you for whatever comes your way this year. This Year, Stop Feeling Guilty For Having Anxiety You didn’t choose to have anxiety, and if you could choose to not have anxiety, you probably would. Mental health conditions are faced by millions of people everyday including people in government, celebrities, and performers. Anxiety is incredibly common. You are not alone in your struggles. To stop weighing yourself down for having anxiety, practice embracing the fact that it is part of what makes up your life. It’s your special challenge which motivates you to take extra care of yourself. Walk Through Your Fears Having anxiety usually means having a lot of general, as well as specific fears. Anxiety doesn’t mean you can’t do things that scare you, but it does mean you have to do them a certain way. This year make a list of fears you’d like to walk through. Know that you don’t have to complete them. However, setting up an intention can help inspire you to do what it takes to prepare yourself to walk through what you feel you can’t. As a result, you’ll find anything is possible, even with anxiety. Avalon By The Sea is a mental health treatment center offering primary care to those with mental health conditions such as anxiety. For a private consultation or more information on our residential treatment programs, call 1 888-958-7511.