Anxiety is a normal part of life. For example, you may have felt anxiety before addressing a group or in a job interview. It’s natural and useful and lets us know when we are not safe so that we can act on the danger. Of course, this can be real, perceived or imagined. Whichever it is, the anxiety response will be the same. So, there is stress which often leads to anxiety and when this is not addressed it can become an anxiety disorder.
So, it is natural in the sense that the inbuilt fight or flight response is being triggered. It’s when it’s kicking in when it doesn’t need to, when its being triggered by perceived or imagined threats that it becomes a problem. Again, once it’s been experienced and then its feared and focused on, the pathway becomes stronger and stronger and keeps being repeated and repeated.
How we make anxiety worse
Avoidance
Creating irrational assumptions
Nominalisations “I have anxiety”
Long-term anxiety and panic attacks cause the brain to release stress hormones on a regular basis. This can increase the frequency of symptoms such as headaches, dizziness, and depression.
When you feel anxious and stressed, your brain floods your nervous system with hormones and chemicals designed to help you respond to a threat. Adrenaline and cortisol are two examples.
While helpful for the occasional high-stress event, long-term exposure to stress hormones can be more harmful to your physical health in the long run. For example, long-term exposure to cortisol can contribute to weight gain.
So, anxiety can affect:
Anxiety disorders can cause rapid heart rate, palpitations, and chest pain. You may also be at an increased risk of high blood pressure and heart disease. If you already have heart disease, anxiety disorders may raise the risk of coronary events.
Excretory and digestive systems
Anxiety also affects your excretory and digestive systems. You may have stomach aches, nausea, diarrhoea, and other digestive issues. Loss of appetite can also occur.
There is also often a connection between anxiety disorders and the development of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). IBS can cause vomiting, diarrhoea, or constipation and pain.
Anxiety trigger’s the flight-or-fight stress response and releases a flood of chemicals and hormones, like adrenaline, into the body.
In the short term, this increases your pulse and breathing rate, so your brain can get more oxygen. This prepares you to respond appropriately to an intense situation. Your immune system may even get a brief boost. With occasional stress, your body returns to normal functioning when the stress passes.
But if you repeatedly feel anxious and stressed or it lasts a long time, your body never gets the signal to return to normal functioning. This can weaken your immune system, leaving you more vulnerable to viral infections and frequent illnesses.
Anxiety causes rapid, shallow breathing. So, it can make asthma symptoms worse.
If you want to find out more about how I can help you can book a free consultation. Alternatively, you can work through an online program in your own time to axe your anxiety
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