Feeling anxious?

Anxiety and fear are important for survival as they act as a mechanism to protect the body against danger. However they trigger the release of adrenalin which causes your heart to beat faster to carry blood where it’s needed most. This results in faster breathing and sweating to prevent overheating. Your mouth may feel dry, as your digestive system slows down and your senses become heightened as your brain becomes more alert. These changes enable the body to take action and protect itself in a dangerous situation, either by running away or fighting off an attacker. This is known as the ‘fight or flight’ reaction. Once the danger has passed, other hormones are released, which may cause you to shake as your muscles start to relax.

The response is useful for protecting you against physical dangers but it’s not so useful for your body to react in the same way to situations which you can’t deal with appropriately by fighting or running away. Examples of this might include public speaking, a driving test, or going to a job interview. Alternatively it might be more everyday situations.

Anxiety can be triggered by a number of factors.

Something upsetting may have happened to you in the past, and because you were unable to deal with the emotions at the time, you may become anxious about encountering the situation again, just in case it brings up the same feelings of distress.

You may worry about the future which is perfectly understandable in the current climate. Sometimes we feel we are not in control of aspects of our lives and we can start to feel anxious about events beyond our control, such as the threat of a virus, of losing a loved one, or of losing a job.

Feeling anxious can also be a learned response – something that you picked up early on in life. Your family may have tended to see the world as a hostile and scary place, for example. Some people may even inherit a tendency to be more anxious. We all become anxious under pressure, but one person may become more anxious than another, because of a mixture of personality, current circumstances and childhood experience.

On a day-to-day basis, caffeine, too much sugar, bad diet, drug misuse, tiredness, stress and the side effects of certain medication can also cause anxiety. And a pandemic doesn’t help either!

After a while, people can start to fear the symptoms of anxiety, especially feeling out of control, which sets up a vicious circle. They feel anxious because they dread feeling the symptoms, and then they experience those symptoms because they are having anxious thoughts.

Anxiety has an effect on both the body and the mind.

Physical effects
Increased muscular tension can cause discomfort and headaches. Breathing quickly may make you feel light-headed and shaky, and give you pins and needles. Rising blood pressure can make you more aware of a pounding heart. Changes to the blood supply going to the digestive system may also cause nausea and sickness. The effects on your nervous system may manifest themselves in an urgent need to visit the toilet, and butterflies in the stomach.

Long-term anxiety is bad for your health because it can weaken your immune system, lowering your resistance to infection. Increased blood pressure can cause heart or kidney problems, and contribute to the chances of having a stroke. You may experience digestive difficulties, along with other health problems.

Psychological effects
The psychological effects of anxiety include fear, heightened alertness, irritability, and inability to relax or concentrate and you may want to seek the reassurance of others and to frequently cry.

It is common to fear that the worst is going to happen in every situation and take a very pessimistic outlook on life.

To cope with these feelings and sensations, people may start smoking or drinking too much, or misusing drugs. They may start avoiding certain situations, and maintain relationships that either support their anxious outlook or help them avoid situations they find distressing.

Sometimes, anxiety can take the form of a panic attack, which is the rapid build-up of overwhelming sensations, such as a pounding (and sometimes irregular) heartbeat, feeling faint, sweating, nausea, chest pains, breathing discomfort, feelings of losing control, shaky limbs and legs turning to jelly. These symptoms can make people afraid that they are going mad, blacking out, or having a heart attack. They may be convinced they are going to die in the course of the attack, making this a terrifying experience.

Panic attacks may sometimes occur for no reason, and people may not be able to understand why, which can lead them to feel as if their mind has gone totally out of control.

You may find it difficult to hold down a job, develop or maintain good relationships, or simply to enjoy leisure time and often, sleep problems may further aggravate anxious feelings and reduce your ability to cope.

For some people, anxiety becomes so overwhelming that it takes over their lives. They may experience severe or very frequent panic attacks, for no apparent reason, or have a persistent, ‘free-floating’ sense of anxiety. Some may develop a phobia about going out and about, or may withdraw from contact with people, even their family and friends. Others have obsessive thoughts or repetitious behaviour, such as endlessly washing their hands.

Problems of this kind are known as panic disorders or anxiety disorders but this does not mean a person has a serious mental health problem. However, in these most severe cases it’s important to consult your GP, to eliminate any possible physical cause for the symptoms.

Some common behaviours:
• A feeling of anxiety every day without knowing what it relates to. This is called “free floating anxiety”.
• Impatience, irritability, and frustration.
• Increased consumption of alcohol and/or cigarettes.
• Change of eating habits

Some common symptoms:
• Butterflies in stomach
• Excessive sweating
• Increased heart rate
• Dry mouth
• Tightness in chest
• Migraine or tension headaches
• Gastric ulcers
• Poor sleeping pattern