Are you constantly worried? Do you feel overwhelmed and struggling in your daily life?
Do you want to make a change in your life but don’t know where to begin?
Whatever the source of your stress, after a while, it can make you feel tired, worried, or worn out. It can be a frustrating and exhausting experience. If you struggle with anxiety, know that you are not alone.
What is anxiety, and where does it come from?
Anxiety can be traced back to evolutionary times as an arousal mechanism for survival. Our ancestors developed the fight/flight response system to help them deal with emergencies by increasing heart rate, respiration, body temperature, blood pressure, and other physiological changes. They also developed the capacity for thought, which helped them remember past experiences, think about the future, and strategize for survival.
Historically, the fight/flight response system and the ability to think were crucial for survival, but in today’s society, these traits may have resulted in an overactive imagination and persistent worries. This is largely due to the mind’s tendency to hold onto negative experiences and memories more easily than positive ones. As such, bad experiences are remembered more vividly, leading to constant worrying and anxiety. This tendency is known as the negativity bias.
All in all, anxiety is a normal reaction to stress and can be both helpful and harmful. In small doses, it can be motivational. But when anxiety is constant or overwhelming, it can interfere with our daily lives and make it difficult to function.
How can you tell if you have anxiety?
Anxiety can manifest in different ways, depending on the individual and the situation. It is important to pay attention to the physical and emotional symptoms of anxiety.
Common physical symptoms include:
- Racing heart
- Difficult breathing
- Feeling nauseous
- Feeling tense or jumpy
- Difficulty sleeping
Common emotional symptoms include:
- Constant worrying or obsessing over things
- Feeling overwhelmed or out of control
- Difficulty concentrating
- Feeling the need for constant perfection
It’s also common to experience avoidance behaviours, such as avoiding people or situations that make you anxious.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed with worries and stress and can’t seem to shake it off, then you may be experiencing anxiety.
Types of anxiety
- Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) – persistent worry and fear about everyday situations
- Panic Disorder (PD) – sudden and intense episodes of panic attacks (fear and physical symptoms such as sweating, shaking, and a rapid heartbeat).
- Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) – intense fear and self-consciousness in social situations
- Specific Phobias – intense fear and avoidance of specific objects or situations, such as fear of flying, fear of dogs, fear of spiders, etc.
These are just a few examples of the different forms of anxiety. It is important to note that every individual may experience anxiety differently.
Anxiety Treatment Options
You might be asking yourself whether anxiety goes away on its own. For some, anxiety is short-lived and goes away on its own. But, most of the time, anxiety is chronic, lasting for weeks, months, or even years.
Here are a few approaches that have been proven to be effective in treating anxiety based on research studies:
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for anxiety
- Exposure Therapy for anxiety
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for anxiety
- Mindfulness for anxiety
Anxiety Therapy Sessions at Get Reconnected Psychotherapy Services
At Get Reconnected Psychotherapy Services, we offer a unique approach to anxiety treatment. We take a mind-body connection approach in sessions, helping you change your relationship with anxiety. We believe that every individual experiences anxiety differently, so we tailor our approach to each person in order to provide the best possible care.
During sessions, you and your therapist will work together to
- Identify, understand, and learn to manage the thoughts, feelings, and behaviours that contribute to your anxiety.
- Develop relaxation techniques or other strategies to manage your anxiety in the moment.
- Create action plans to help you cope with your anxiety in the long term.
Depending on your personal needs, the intensity of your therapy can vary from brief, focused sessions to more in-depth ones.
In a nutshell, therapy for anxiety is designed to give you insight into the root cause of your anxiety and build practical skills to help you manage it.
For more information about our approaches, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.
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