What Are Some Causes Of Anxiety And Who Does It Impact?
Your heart is racing. You can't seem to calm your thoughts from spiraling out of control. You feel as if something bad is going to happen, you can't just place what.
Your stomach is in knots. You feel clammy and sweaty and scattered. These feelings are all too familiar for you - you are dealing with anxiety yet again.
What Is Anxiety?
Anxiety is a common and natural response to stress. It is a learned response from our ancestors to life or death situations, known as the flight or fight mode. They could either stay and fight or choose to flee.
At some point, everyone has experienced anxiousness. You may have dealt with it before a test in school that you weren't sure you'd do well on. Or before a job interview. When the stressful event is over, the anxiety will disappear and you will feel fine.
However, some people deal with anxiety chronically. In chronic anxiety cases, or Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) the anxiety never goes away. Often times, it is never attributed to a singular stand alone event. It is a constant feeling of anxiousness or worrying about multiple things. Even when these situations aren't based on anything.
For instance, someone may have anxiety about being out in public and someone laughing at their outfit or making fun of the way they speak. It's a very real worry - but it isn't based on anything that could for sure happen. And chances are, it wouldn't. But the worry over perceived dangers or threats is still there.
What Causes Anxiety?
We know the symptoms of anxiety and how anxiety began with our ancient ancestors. But, there is little concrete evidence of what exactly causes GAD to become an ongoing part of someone's life. Typically, anxiety can be attributed to the following:
Chemistry in the brain
Trauma
Genetics
Environmental factors
Chronic illness or medical conditions
Symptoms of Anxiety
Anxiety is more than just excessive worrying or feeling stressed. Symptoms of anxiety can also include:
Nausea
Difficulty focusing
Heart palpitations
Uncontrollable, racing thoughts
Avoidance
Dizziness
Panic attacks
Difficulty sleeping
Muscle Tension
Anxiety over life events such as moving, switching jobs
Who Can Anxiety Affect?
Anxiety can impact anyone, at any age. Anxiety symptoms can typically begin manifesting at an early age. However, it is typically not fully realized as an anxiety disorder until later in life, typically the late teenager years or early young adulthood.
Anxiety can happen to both men and women. In 2021, anxiety disorder diagnoses in adults jumped to an astonishing 42%, according to the CDC.
How To Ease Anxiety
Anxiety disorders are the most common form of mental health conditions that people face. It is also one of the most treatable mental health struggles out there. When anxiety gets to the point where it is out of control, it can begin affecting every area of a person's life. From work, school, relationships, or just going outside of the house - anxiety can really mess with a person's livelihood.
Learning to manage and control anxiety, and not the other way around, is really important. There are a variety of ways that anxiety can be eased. From mindfulness to breathing exercises, yoga and walking, there are a variety of natural options available to begin kicking anxiety to the curb.
Perhaps the most effective treatment of them all is counseling. With anxiety therapy, a licensed counselor can help you learn management and stress relief techniques that can begin to counteract the troubling symptoms. Going to counseling does more than just mask the symptoms - it gets to the core issues that are causing you to feel anxious in the first place.
If you are ready to take the next steps to live a life more free from anxiety, reach out to us at Recovery Collective today, we are here to support you. We also offer our Integrative Holistic, which combines therapy and acupuncture within the same session and can have a tangible positive effect on your anxiety during the very first session.