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Anxiety and Anxiety Disorder

Anxiety: A combination of negative emotions including fear and worry. Anxiety is usually accompanied by physical sensations such as chest pain, racing heart, smothering feelings and sweating.

What is anxiety?

Anxiety is the name given to a perfectly natural response to a perceived threat. Depending on the nature of the threat, anxiety can range from mild concern to extreme 'fight or flight' responses, wherein the body prepares itself for extreme physical exertion as part of its in-built 'self-preservation' mechanisms.

Lynn Mullins talks about her experiences of anxiety.
video transcript

Summary:

Eliminate your anxiety - risk free!

103,405 people around the world have used The Linden Method to eliminate their anxiety, panic attacks, OCD and phobias.

Anxiety Disorder

Anxiety disorder exists when a sufferer encounters a situation that would normally not be considered a significant threat and experiences an exaggerated anxiety response. When the anxiety response is disproportionate to the 'actual' level of threat, it becomes inappropriate anxiety.

The Amygdala

The Amygdala forms part of
the Limbic System within the brain

Anxiety (and therefore inappropriate anxiety) is subconciously triggered by the Amygdala, a small organ in the brain.

Normally, the amygdala operates at 'calm/normal' status. When we are faced with an anxiety-provoking situation, the amygdala switches to 'anxious' and, depending on the level of threat perceived, initiates 'self-preservation' responses within the body.

Once the threat has dissipated, the amygdala reverts back to 'calm/normal'. The effects of the 'self-preservation' responses may remain for a short time but eventually also fade as the body returns to a 'resting' status.

Exposure to extreme or prolonged periods of anxiety can cause the amygdala to become reset, establishing 'anxious' as the new 'default' level. The amygdala has 'learned' anxious behaviour.

The amygdala now over-reacts to situations that would normally have low levels of threat with an exaggerated response and initiates extreme self-preservation mechanisms, normally reserved for potentially life-threatening scenarios.

The individual subconsciously adopts an 'anxious' disposition and has developed an anxiety disorder. However, the term 'disorder' suggests 'illness', which is incorrect. This condition has been 'learned' and, as such, is a 'behavioural' condition.

Anxiety Attacks

An anxiety attack is characterised mainly by symptoms such as shortness of breath, racing heart, sweating, shaking, dizziness, faintness, pins and needles in the limbs and many more possible symptoms.

Anxiety Conditions

Anxiety disorder sufferers may develop one or more of a group of recognised anxiety conditions:

Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Panic Disorder (Panic Attacks)
Phobias
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Social Anxiety
Situational Anxiety

In addition, inappropriate anxiety will likely trigger a range of anxiety symptoms - extreme psychological and physiological anxiety responses.

It is important to understand that these anxiety conditions are part of an anxiety disorder and not 'stand alone' conditions. They cannot exist without an underlying anxiety disorder.

It is estimated that the UK has as many as 20 million sufferers of an anxiety condition, approximately one in three people.

Anxiety Symptoms

Anxiety symptoms are the result of an abnormal increase in the levels of adrenaline in the blood, which sets off a 'chain reaction' of normal, but inappropriate, bodily functions.

Anxiety in Children

Children, like people of all ages, can develop anxiety disorders but also suffer from anxiety conditions born of their inexperience of life, immaturity of thought processes and dependence on parents.

Most children find going to school exciting and enjoyable. Some children become terrified, trying every avoidance tactic in order to stay away from school. Parents should be aware that children who regularly say that they are too sick to go to school, could be doing so in order to avoid anxious feelings.

Of course most children don't want to go to school sometimes; this happens commonly at ages where children are faced with tougher school activities or exams. Some children have what is called Separation Anxiety, which is a phobia of leaving the safety of their parents or home. This period of a child's life is not only disturbing and scary for the child, but also frustrating and worrying for the child's parents.

Child anxiety can present itself in a number of ways:

Constant thoughts and fears about safety of self and parents
Refusing to go to school
Frequent stomach aches and other physical complaints
Extreme worries about sleeping away from home
Overly clingy
Panic or tantrums at times of separation from parents
Trouble sleeping or nightmares

Anxiety Tips

Correct breating, posture and diversion techniques can be used to help to minimise anxiety symptoms or control an attack of high anxiety or panic. It should be unserstood however, that while these techniques are effective in the short term, they do not represent a permanent solution and future attacks may still occur.

Breathing

The rules are simple:

Lengthen exhalation to relax
Lengthen inhalation to stimulate yourself

So when you wish to relax, inhale fully (but stay relaxed) and then, without pausing, exhale slowly. Then repeat this as many times, as required.

Read more about Breathing tips for anxiety

Posture

Most people neglect correct posture and on the whole never experience any negative effects until quite late in life, back ache and neck pain being the most common of these. If a person with anxiety also suffers with incorrect posture this can have a profound effect on the level of anxiety symptoms.

In our modern life we are less likely to stand, walk and run for long periods. Over the last one hundred years human habits have evolved quicker than at any other time in history; we have more stressors, life is faster, more expensive and definitely more competitive.

Our bodies, however, have not evolved to accommodate these changes in life practice; this can cause incompatibility between physiological makeup and activities. Over sustained periods of physical and mental pressure caused by these incompatibilities, physical problems can develop which manifest themselves as stress. Physical activity promotes more effective circulation, muscle fitness, cardiovascular fitness and healthier lungs.

Read more about Posture tips for anxiety

Diversion

Attacks of high anxiety or panic are driven by obsessive anxious thoughts. Therefore, during a high anxiety or panic attack, it is possible to divert your thoughts and attention in a number of ways to effectively regain control.

Read more about Diversion tactics for anxiety

Anxiety Help / Support

So many different practitioners, resources, medications, groups, websites and psychologists boast anxiety help, support and elimination, but, how many of them 'talk the talk', but can't 'walk the walk'?

The problem is that time is money and most practitioners do their job and go home regardless of their client's anguish, confusion or distress.

In order for anxiety help and support to be effective and to offer permanent recovery, it must have structure, experienced support and constant monitoring to enable the sufferer to make the fastest and most permanent recovery without reoccurrence of any symptoms.

Anxiety Treatment / Cures

If total anxiety elimination is to be achieved, a targetted anxiety treatment methodology must be followed in order to address the root cause of the anxiety directly and to provide support to the sufferer.

An anxiety cure must address the anxiety at its source in the subconscious mind rather than attempt to superficially change behaviours through drug therapies or psychotherapy in isolation.

A drug and therapy free anxiety cure is available which allows the sufferer to recover quickly and permanently using a simple and comfortable anxiety treatment methodology.

Read more about Anxiety Treatment / Cures

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