Throughout our life we are faced with a variety of challenges. Feeling worried, stressed, apprehensive or anxious about those challenges is normal – sometimes even healthy.
- A big test is coming up? Feeling nervous is normal.
- A first date with your long-time crush? Feeling jittery is normal.
- The boss calls us into their office and we do not know why? Feeling worried is normal.
- An unexpected phone call from someone we are close to? Feeling apprehensive is normal.
But for nearly 20% of population, every day is filled with worry that goes beyond normal – feelings of physical and emotional nervousness that seem to be triggered for no reason at all.
This is Anxiety.
Anxiety is a natural response to life’s challenges but when it becomes persistent it becomes a problem.
Hundreds of thousands of years ago, early man was faced with many dangers from large predators to small poisonous snakes, they needed to keep alert to constant danger and react quickly to maintain their safety.
The body has an amazing system to do this called the flight-or-fight response. It is triggered by part of the brain called the amygdala. The amygdala sends signals to your body that danger exists, increasing your heart rate: your body produces adrenaline and cortisol to put you in a maximum alert mode to deal with a threat to your survival. Blood is diverted to muscles and other functions are downgraded to enable you to survive. This flight-or-fight system is critical for your life and safety.
Unfortunately, many people find that their flight or fight response has become faulty and is triggered when they face no apparent danger, causing them to experience significant distress. When a person’s body is reacting like it is in danger without a threat to your safety, that person has anxiety. It’s a bit like an oversensitive car alarm being set off by the wind blowing objects at the car, or a big bang happens to set alarm off. The car is not in danger, but the alarm goes off.
Anxiety at its core is a good thing because people would not walk into dark alleys alone at night, get into fights with people 10 times their size or get near the edge of a roof of a tall building. Anxiety is designed to keep people safe.
The problem is when people are experiencing anxiety when they should not be, or when the anxiety is more severe than it should be in that situation. This creates problems to your everyday life. You are on red alert and this is like a computer programme running in the background consuming your mental and physical energy. Life just seems that much harder.
Why people have become prone to anxiety is the subject of my next post which looks at the causes of anxiety. In this post I will discuss what factors create this oversensitivity in our anxiety response.
After a lifetime of suffering with periods of severe anxiety and having learnt some amazing techniques to manage and eliminate it from my life, I now wish to help others do the same, and live the life they want.
So, if you wish to discuss how can I help please contact me. The first 30 minutes of any consultation is free.
Start the journey to happiness and peace.
Contact Roy Gough:
Mobile Number – 07817979493
email – springtreetherapies @gmail.com
or contact me on Messenger.
Skype address: edward.roy.gough