Anxious state
Each of us at least once in our life felt a slight anxiety before an important event or conversation. This is a normal reaction of the body to a single stress factor. However, sometimes anxiety becomes more than a response to a trigger event. Feeling anxious for no reason can be one of the symptoms of anxiety. It is important to understand that anxiety is not a weakness or an individual character trait. In this article, we will understand how you can recognize them by their characteristic features and learn how to manage them.
Anxiety - what is it?
Anxiety is an emotional state of internal tension that occurs when a person feels danger, uncertainty, expects something unpleasant or difficult. It can manifest itself before an exam, a move, change of work etc. In such situations, anxiety performs a protective function, helping the body to adapt to the upcoming responsible event. Normally, this mechanism appears when needed, mobilizes the body's resources, and disappears when the threat has passed.
But sometimes the feeling of anxiety arises for no apparent reason and persists for quite a long time (from several weeks to several months), manifesting itself on both a physical and emotional level. In such cases, experts speak of a state of anxiety.
In contrast to ordinary anxiety, anxiety is a long-term psychophysiological state of a person, when the natural defense mechanism is active for too long without an obvious threat. In such conditions, the "fight or flight" reaction, which usually mobilizes the body for a short time in dangerous situations, does not turn off in time. Because of this, the nervous system is constantly on alert, gradually exhausting the mind and body.
There are several main types of anxiety states. Generalized anxiety is characterized by constant internal tension and a tendency to worry about everything at once. You may feel anxious about work, health, loved ones, finances or the future in general, even if there are no objective reasons for this.
Panic states are manifested in the form of sudden attacks of severe anxiety or fear. During such episodes, the heart beats faster, there is dizziness, lack of air, fear of losing control or dying. Between the attacks, there is often a fear of repeating the panic, which increases the general anxiety.
Social anxiety is associated with the fear of evaluation by other people. It manifests itself in anxiety before public speeches, acquaintances, work meetings or any situation where there is a risk of criticism or condemnation. A person with social anxiety often avoids social contact, even though they actually crave communication.
Situational (or specific) anxiety occurs in response to specific situations or objects, such as flights, medical procedures, confined spaces, or certain events. In everyday life, this anxiety may be less noticeable, but increases dramatically when faced with a trigger.
Anxiety related to chronic stress or traumatic experience often develops after psychological trauma or a prolonged period of heightened danger. Its main symptoms are difficulties with relaxation, sleep disturbances, a feeling of constant threat even in safe conditions.
Anxiety states can combine with each other and change over time. If anxiety becomes the background of life, this is not a reason for self-blame, but an important signal that you need professional advice. In order to understand that it is time to support yourself or seek specialized help, it is important to be able to recognize anxiety states by characteristic symptoms.
At the same time, it is important to understand that not every anxiety is a problem that should be solved immediately. Specialists consider the state of anxiety as a sequence of phenomena, without dividing each of its stages into norm and disorder. Conventionally, this process can be described as follows: ordinary anxiety - increased anxiety - anxiety state - anxiety disorder. A person can be on any of them and not proceed to a clinical diagnosis. That is why you should not hurry with shortcuts, but evaluate the duration and intensity of symptoms before prescribing treatment.
Anxiety: symptoms
There are physical and psychological symptoms of anxiety states. The following are the main physiological ones:
Muscle tension: the body is constantly on standby, the jaw, shoulders and limbs are unconsciously tensed even at rest.
Sleep disturbances: the brain has difficulty turning off, difficulty falling asleep and frequent awakenings in the middle of the night.
Rapid heartbeat: activation of the nervous system makes the heart beat faster and its rhythm becomes too irregular.
Constant fatigue: long-term internal tension exhausts the body's resources, so there is a feeling of constant lack of strength even after rest or sleep.
The following are among the psychological symptoms of anxiety:
Constant worry: Thoughts constantly revolve around possible problems.
Anticipation of danger: there is an anxiety in the soul and a premonition that something bad can happen at any moment.
Difficulty with concentration: attention constantly returns to disturbing thoughts, and this makes it difficult to concentrate on tasks.
Increased self-criticism: there is a habit of blaming oneself, doubting one's own decisions and actions.
Feeling out of control: Feeling like your emotions or thoughts are "driving" your behavior, rather than the other way around.
Difficulty making decisions: Fear of making mistakes makes even the simplest choices overly complicated.
Causes of anxiety states
Usually, anxiety states are not considered as the result of a single cause, but as the result of the interaction of several factors. Anxiety is formed at the intersection of innate features of a person's nervous system, his life experience, environmental conditions and the way he is used to reacting to stress. Below are the main groups of reasons that most often underlie anxiety states.
Genetic factors
First of all, the tendency to anxiety can be partially inherited. This does not mean that a person is doomed to anxiety states, but his nervous system may be more sensitive to stress.
It is about the peculiarities of the brain structures responsible for processing threats, in particular the amygdala. In such people, anxiety can arise more quickly and be more intense, even in situations that others perceive as neutral.
Environmental factors
Environmental factors are the environment in which a person lives. War, instability, danger, financial uncertainty, chronic overload keep the nervous system on constant alert. When the sense of security is violated for a long time, anxiety ceases to be situational and turns into a stable state, even if there is no immediate threat at a specific moment.
Personality factors
Some personality traits are usually associated with a higher tendency to anxiety states. Among them is increased sensitivity, perfectionism, a tendency to self-criticism, the need to control everything, and a strong fear of mistakes. People with these traits are often internally oriented towards avoiding danger and may constantly check themselves and the world for risks.
Health factors
Physical condition is closely related to mental condition. Chronic diseases, hormonal changes, thyroid disorders, lack of sleep, exhaustion or the effects of previous diseases can increase anxiety symptoms. In such cases, the anxiety state often has a psychosomatic nature: bodily changes affect the work of the nervous system, increasing the general level of tension.
Biological factors
At the biological level, anxiety states are associated with an imbalance of neurotransmitters: serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine. These substances are responsible for mood regulation, stress response and a sense of security. When their work is disrupted, the brain can more often read neutral signals as threatening.
Social factors
The quality of relationships and social support is important for mental resilience. Loneliness, conflicts, unstable or dangerous relationships, experiences of rejection or emotional isolation significantly increase the level of anxiety. A person who does not feel supported by others is more often left alone with his experiences, which, as a result, increases internal tension.
Cultural factors
Cultural attitudes also influence the formation of anxiety states. Pressure from parents, friends or other important people from your environment, the prohibition to show emotions, the devaluation of psychological help or the expectation of constant productivity create an additional burden on the psyche. When a person is not taught from childhood to recognize and experience emotions, anxiety often goes unspoken and accumulates, manifesting through the body or chronic anxiety.
Treatment of anxiety states
When it comes to the treatment of anxiety states, it is first of all important not to remove the symptom as quickly as possible, but to restore a lasting internal balance and a sense of security in the body and psyche. The approach to treatment is always individual and depends on many factors: the intensity of the symptoms, their duration, the impact on everyday life and the reasons behind the anxiety. In professional practice, psychotherapy is most often used, if necessary - medication support, as well as work with lifestyle. It should be remembered: asking for help does not mean "weakness", but is a step towards self-care.
Psychotherapy of anxiety states
Psychotherapy is traditionally one of the most effective ways to deal with anxiety. It helps not only to reduce symptoms, but also to understand why exactly anxiety occurs, what internal and external factors cause it, how to gradually regain a sense of control over one's own life.
In the therapeutic process, a person learns to notice their thoughts, bodily reactions, and emotions associated with anxiety without judgment or self-criticism. Depending on the approach, a psychotherapist can help change anxious thinking patterns, teach self-regulation skills, work with body tension and experiences that have accumulated over the years. An important role is also played by the actual therapeutic contact, in which a safe space is created, where you can be heard and accepted, without trying to "pull yourself together" or "take control of yourself”.
Psychotherapy is particularly effective for increased anxiety and anxiety states, and is also a basic method of treating anxiety disorders. Its advantage is that the acquired skills stay with a person for a long time and help to cope with anxiety in the future.
Pharmacotherapy of anxiety disorders
Pharmacotherapy is used when anxiety symptoms are intense, long-lasting, or significantly limit a person's ability to function in everyday life. Treatment with drugs is not a "magic pill", but medical support that helps create conditions for recovery at the physical level.
Anti-anxiety medication is always prescribed by a psychiatrist or other appropriate specialist after a thorough assessment of the condition. Properly selected medications can help reduce constant internal tension, panic attacks, sleep disturbances, and other physical symptoms of anxiety. At the same time, pharmacotherapy gives the best results in combination with psychotherapy, because the drugs affect the symptoms, and the therapy affects the causes and mechanisms of the anxiety state.
However, it is important not to engage in self-medication and not to perceive medical support as a final solution. For many people, this is a temporary stage on the way to stabilization, after which more resources appear for deeper psychological work and a gradual return to a sense of self-support.
Anxiety states - how to help yourself?
You can work independently with anxiety. Self-help is not a substitute for psychotherapy or medical support, but it is an effective tool to alleviate a person's condition. Small but regular steps help the nervous system to gradually get out of the "fight or flight" mode”.
Acceptance of your problem
The first and very important step is to admit that it is difficult for you now. Accepting anxiety means not putting up with it, but stopping fighting with yourself. When a person tries to ignore anxiety, devalues his feelings or constantly forces himself to "hold on", internal tension only increases. Allowing yourself to feel and call your condition by its name reduces the level of self-criticism and opens up space for real support: both internal and external.
Changing the way of thinking is conscious attention
Anxiety states are often sustained by repetitive, uncontrolled thoughts about danger, catastrophic scenarios, and constant scrolling of "what if...". Mindfulness practices help to notice these thoughts without merging with them. They form the ability to stop, observe and return to the present moment. Over time, this reduces the intensity of anxiety reactions and helps the brain learn to respond more flexibly, rather than following the usual fear script.
What are some mindfulness practices??
Conscious breathing is one of the simplest and at the same time the most effective practices. A person focuses on the sensations of breathing: how air enters the lungs and leaves them, how the chest or stomach moves at the same time. When attention wanders to thoughts (which is normal), it is gently brought back to the breath. This practice helps to calm the nervous system and reduce body tension at the same time.
The practice of body scanning consists in gradually shifting attention to different parts of the body - from the feet to the head or vice versa. The goal is not to change anything, but to notice where there is tension, heat, cold, throbbing, or fatigue. The practice of body scanning increases body awareness and helps to recognize alarm signals earlier.
In the practice of mindful observation of thoughts, thoughts are viewed not as facts, but as mental events. A person learns to notice: "now I have a disturbing thought", instead of automatically diving into it. Such practices aim to reduce the impact of catastrophic thinking on the psyche.
Grounding practices help to get back in touch with reality through the senses. For example, name 5 things that you see, 4 - that you feel with your body, 3 - that you hear, 2 - that you smell, 1 - that you taste. Such techniques are especially useful during periods of heightened anxiety.
Mindful movement is another useful practice: it can be slow yoga, stretching, walking, or any movement in which the attention is focused on the sensation in the body, not on the result. Conscious movement helps to relieve accumulated tension and return the feeling of presence in the body.
Breathing exercises and physical activity
The body and psyche are closely connected, so working with the body is one of the most effective ways of self-help in anxiety states. When the nervous system is in a constant state of "alertness", even a small physical intervention can significantly reduce anxiety levels.
Slow, deep breathing is a simple and accessible regulation tool. When a person consciously slows down inhalation and exhalation, the nervous system receives a signal that there is no threat. This reduces the activation of the sympathetic system (“fight or flight”) and activates the parasympathetic system, which is responsible for recovery and relaxation. This breath control helps reduce heart palpitations, muscle tension, and inner feelings of anxiety, restoring a sense of calm..
Regular moderate physical activity is another key resource for reducing anxiety. Walking in the fresh air, stretching, swimming, yoga or light cardio helps reduce the level of stress hormones (cortisol, adrenaline) and gradually relax muscles that accumulate tension during the day. Physical movement also stimulates the production of endorphins - natural hormones of joy, which increase mood and a sense of control over the body. At the same time, it is important to choose a movement that supports, not exhausts: intense training or overload can cause the opposite effect and increase anxiety.
Lifestyle and nutrition
One of the most important factors affecting the level of anxiety is daily habits and lifestyle. Chronic lack of sleep forces the nervous system to work in a mode of constant stress, increases sensitivity to alarm signals and impairs the ability to self-regulate. Excessive consumption of caffeine or energy drinks stimulates the body in the same way as the body's natural fight-or-flight response, which can increase heart palpitations, tension, and inner restlessness. Irregular nutrition and a lack of sufficient nutrients affect energy levels and the balance of neurotransmitters in the brain, making a person more vulnerable to stress. In addition, constant information overload: social networks, news, work messages - stimulates internal tension and prevents rest.
Taking care of basic needs: adequate sleep, regular rest, balanced nutrition and reducing screen time is a solid foundation for a stable emotional state. When the body's needs are met, anxiety levels decrease and the ability to focus, relax, and regulate emotions increases. It is with such simple actions that a gradual movement towards reducing anxiety begins.
Psychotherapists at the Counselling Institute have many years of experience working with anxiety states. If you notice constant tension in yourself, contact psychologist online can be the first step to feeling better. Our special test will help you find specialists who work with requests similar to yours and offer appropriate support.