A New Look at Anxiety and How to Identify It

Anxiety has gotten a bad rap in society. Millions of people suffer from a variety of so-called anxiety-based illnesses. Health care providers throw anti-depressants at their patients as an all-purpose panacea without spending time to get to the root cause. Today we are talking about anxiety to help remove the stigma and the shame, and to help us all get better at managing it. 

In the fear-driven world we live in, anxiety steals our peace and our joy and keeps us from achieving our goals and fulfilling our destiny! So, what is really going on here? Today we'll talk about a different way to view anxiety, what it stems from, and the signs we need to look out for.

First of all, anxiety is nothing to be ashamed of or feel guilty about, okay? Except in extreme cases, anxiety is a normal reaction that something is not right in our lives. Many situations and circumstances can provoke an anxious response, depending on our life experiences. Anxiety is our body and mind speaking to us, telling us something is out of kilter. If left unaddressed, long term anxiety can cause physical illness.The body reacts to what the mind is dealing with either consciously or unconsciously. 

Anxiety is a close relative of fear. Its other relatives include worry, doubt, and overwhelm. Anxiety is rooted in the core belief of self-doubt and that we are incapable of handling the circumstances of life. It is often a learned behavior. Many, including yours truly, learned to be anxious, from our parents. It also came from being brought up in a volatile, chaotic, alcoholic home where nothing was stable. For many years, my mom declared "I'm a worrier", as if it were a badge of honor. In her golden years, she has moved somewhat from worry into more peace, trust, and confidence. So what happened?

Studies have shown that the way we think forms neural pathways in our brains and the more we think in a certain way, the deeper these grooves go. The good news is it is possible to retrain and remold our brains when we retrain our thinking. Here is an article on retraining our brain.

Why are we anxious?
Anxiety can be our friend but like any friend, we have to set our limits with it. There is a message in our anxiety and rather than medicating the feeling away or denying its existence, a healthier approach is to acknowledge it and then to understand what the root cause of the feeling is. 
Do we have too much to do? 
Are we stressed about our finances? A relationship? 
Are we afraid to speak in public? Confront others? 
Are we feeling out of control?

There are a multitude of reasons why we feel anxious and it is up to us to figure out the root cause and then take action to address it, rather than pop a pill or take a drink.

Signs we are anxious
Here are some of the signs we are anxious:
1) talking too much and too fast
2) rushing from task to task
3) feeling out of control and overwhelmed
4) eating too much
5) insomnia
6) inability to relax
7) frequent headaches or digestion issues

Next time we'll talk about how we can handle this feeling in healthier more productive ways. 

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Until next time, stay tuned for more on how to have more peace in our lives and as always,

Keep looking up!

Ariel Paz