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There is much discussion about anxiety and stress today, the severity and prevalence, the target groups and even the validity or actual existence. Everyone occasionally experiences some anxiety. It is a normal response to a stressful event or perceived threat. Anxiety and stress can range from feeling uneasy and worried to severe panic.
Anxiety and stress is an uncomfortable feeling of fear or impending disaster and reflects the thoughts and bodily reactions a person has when they are presented with an event or situation that they cannot manage or undertake successfully. When a person is experiencing anxiety their thoughts are actively assessing the situation, sometimes even automatically and outside of conscious attention, and developing predictions of how well they will cope based on past experiences.
Although some anxiety is a normal response to a stressful situation, when the anxiety level is too high a person may not come up with an effective way of managing the stressful or threatening situation. They might “freeze”, avoid the situation, or even fear they may do something that is out of character.
There is no one cause of high anxiety. Rather, there are a number of factors that may contribute to the development of anxious thoughts and behaviour. Some causes of anxiety are listed below.
- Some hereditary factors.
- Biochemical factors (imbalance of chemicals in the brain that regulate feelings and physical reactions)
- Life experiences or stress
- Personality style – some personality types are more at risk to suffer anxiety.
- Thinking styles – some thinking styles are more at risk than others to suffer anxiety such as perfectionists or obsessive and controlling thinking.
What can you do about perceived anxiety?
There are many strategies that I recommend for dealing with anxiety and stress including the following:
1. Breathing and relaxation exercises and techniques.
2. Diet – try to eliminate substances such as alcohol and caffeine including energy drinks, sugary soft drinks and the like.
3. Diet – try to eliminate processed and unnatural fatty foods and include grass fed, free range products and fresh fruit and vegetables. I also recommend grain free if possible however this is a personal choice. Christine Cronau and Chef Pete Evans are two Facebook sites that I heavily recommend. This way of living is using food as medicine which I will expand on in another blog. Eating clean can have phenomenal physical and mental health benefits.
4. Psychotherapy – talking to a counsellor to help you through your process is also recommended. We’re there to work through the fundamental reasons for your anxiety and stress and help you to change your way of being in the world or ‘your position’ in the world. The way you receive, perceive, react and respond to the stimuli in your daily life.
Until next time, Be kind to each other and love life.
Cheers
Michelle
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