Why is
Anxiety such a Worry? We live in
an era where we are bombarded with news of natural disasters, terrorist attacks
and world events that threaten our peace and security. These are streamed to us
electronically 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Fear is a
natural human response to enable us to deal with threatening or dangerous
situations. Our brains are hard-wired to keep us safe. When we perceive
something that is threatening our safety our bodies go into action. Adrenaline
gets pumped into the bloodstream and muscles. Blood drains from the skin and
gets diverted into large muscle groups like the legs ready to make a quick
getaway. Our heart pounds getting revved up for action. All this in a split
second. For example if we find ourselves in the path of a speeding vehicle this
quick response activates to get us out of the way -the flight part of the fight
or flight response. We go into survival mode! Now wouldn’t
it be helpful if that was the only time we felt fear? It would only be
activated when we really needed it and other times we could get on with our
lives. The problem is that for most of us fear strikes when it is neither helpful
nor wanted. We can literally become paralysed by fear. If this happens over a
long time it becomes habitual, a learned behaviour. Many of us label ourselves
as “worriers” and that becomes how we define ourselves. Worry is a
special form of fear. Whilst we can define fear as caused by external factors,
worry or anxiety is produced internally, it’s the meaning we attach to
something threatening. The body reacts in exactly the same way. The reason
anxiety is such an issue in today’s world, from young children to the elderly,
is that worry is fear that has unpacked its bags and taken up residence. Worry
never moves out on its own – it has to be evicted. That’s when we need to seek
help whether from a health professional in the form of medication and/or
counselling. Therapy can
help you get to the source of the anxiety and help you deal with how your mind
has attached itself to a particular meaning when the initial cause is long
gone. Maybe this was an actual fear in the past which has got turned into
excessive worry through rumination or obsessive negative thoughts and
behaviour. The good news
is that therapy can help you distinguish between what is a helpful fear part
and what is an unhelpful worry part so that you can start enjoying life again
in all its fullness. |
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CategoriesAttunement and the Therapeutic RelationshipEmotional Eating - An Exercise in Mindful Awareness Getting Started in Therapy Trapeze Moments What's stopping you reaching your potential? Why is Anxiety such a Worry |
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