Anxiety

“Nothing is permanent in this world - not even our troubles” - Charlie Chaplin 

As I like to call it, anxiety is for the mind as flu is for the body. What I mean by that, the flu is very uncomfortable. You may experience headaches, muscle pain, feeling nauseous or vomiting. Similarly, there are symptoms typical for anxiety, and I will say a little more about the symptoms below.
Unfortunately, anxiety can affect the way you function. It can prevent you from doing things that can be considered normal, and it could be debilitating. Sometimes you might feel like you are out of space.


Anxiety is different from fear.

Fear is a natural response to something that is threatening to you.

Anxiety is based on rumination.

They differ in time, physical response, behavioural reaction and cognition. Fear is short term lived, keeps you safe and gives you the energy to deal with the present threat.

Anxiety is long term lived, impairs daily activities, and is focused on the future. The characteristic behaviour is avoidance.

There are different types of anxieties, and the symptoms differ from one individual to another.

Symptoms:
- Headaches, vertigo;
- Involuntary muscle twitch, skin sensitivity with no physical cause, lightheadedness;
- Problems concentrating;
- Abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhoea, dry mouth; 
- Shortness of breath;
- Palpitation, chest pain, tachycardia;
- Tiredness, involuntary muscle contractions, tremors;
- Sweating, itchy skin;
- Frequent urination, urgency urinary, impotence, pelvic pain.

Anxiety can be genetic and/or learned (conditioned by events or people), it can be illness induced, substance induced and occurs at the same time with different levels of depression. While experiencing anxiety, people have the tendency to focus on the symptoms, to exaggerate the importance of the situation, overthink, see the challenges as a continuum and assume the worst.

How can I help?
The symptoms of anxiety overlap with other conditions and it can be hard to understand what is the cause of what you experience. A first step is to rule out any physical illness. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is a great way to learn coping mechanisms.