FYI: I want to start this out by saying I am not a health care professional, I am only stating the things I have learned because I suffer from anxiety, from the research I have done over the years, and what I have learned from doctors.
I myself have lived with Anxiety for a long time [as far back as I can remember]. When I was younger there wasn’t much for sources, information, or help to tame the beast that I am wasn’t even totally sure what was happening to me. I thought I was alone in fight to overcome whatever was happening to me. Boy, was I wrong. According to ADAA.org 18% or 40 million adult Americans are affected by some form of Anxiety.
Anxiety is a mental health disorder characterized by feelings of worry, anxiety, or fears that are strong enough to interfere with one’s daily activities. Examples of anxiety disorders are: panic attacks, OCD [obsessive compulsive disorder], and PTSD [post-traumatic stress disorder].
Anxiety develops from complex risk factors, including: genetics, brain chemistry, personality, and/or life events. Symptoms might include stress that’s out of proportion to the impact of the event, inability to set aside a worry, restlessness. Treatments could possible be: counseling and/or medications [usually anti-depressants].
Here are a few of the signs that can help you to know if you should start seeking assistance in helping to work with your Anxiety.
Whole Body:
Fatigue
Restlessness
Sweating
Trembling
Nausea
Behavioral:
Hyper vigilance
Irritability
Insomnia
Cognitive:
Ages Affected
Getting Help
Please never be afraid to ask for help! If that means getting your parents, partner, other relatives, a specialist, doctor, clergyman, anyone that you trust and can help to give you some sort of guidance even if that just means comforting you and helping you find someone better qualified to help you find your way though your anxiety. Then, start with a few of these tips to help yourself to get ahead of it, also this helps you to learn to be the one in control of it.
Self Care
Avoid Alcohol
Reduce Caffeine Intake
Physical Exercise
Aerobics activity for 20-30 minutes 5 days a week improves cardiovascular health.
If injured pursuing an activity that avoids the injured muscle group or joint can help maintain physical function while recovering.
Stress Management
Quitting Tobacco
Relaxation Techniques
Deep breathing, meditation, yoga, rhythmic exercise, and other activities that reduce symptoms of stress and triggers.
Healthy Diet
A diet that provides essential nutrients and adequate calories, while avoiding excess sugar, carbs, and fatty foods.
Therapies
Specialists
Finding someone properly qualified to help you properly can seem like a task – but I promise you will find someone wonderful – DO NOT SETTLE for someone that isn’t a proper fit. If you don’t feel a bit of a professional connection with them, then find someone else! Don’t feel bad about it or like you might have failed or something because that is not true at all. You have to make sure it is a good situation for yourself so that you can come out the other side of all of this better than you went in. Anxiety is nothing to laugh at - it can take over your entire world if you let it. Reaching out for help is the best way to figure out how to work with your anxiety in a positive way to stop the growth of the negative aspects. Do some research online for a doctor who has a good success rate with people who live with Anxiety.
Resource:
It Is NOT Curable, But It Can Be Manageable
There is no quick fix cure for anxiety, but with the right treatment for you it can be manageable. I have suffered for a long time - I don't take any meds and never have [that's not to say it won't help someone else] - but having someone to talk to has helped me a lot - and in time I will keep getting better - not that it will be an easy task, but it has been and will continue to be worth it.
I know many people are nervous or against getting involved with some sort of doctor but trust me, they can be a great source of information and helpful in getting yourself to a much more useful place inside your own head so you can function better in your day to day life.
Helping Your Loved Ones Understand Your Anxiety
Give those closest to you the info you have learned about anxiety and as you learn the things that help to calm your anxiety. Share that info with the people in your life. Things that have helped me when my anxiety is high or during an anxiety attack (these may not help you) are:
Just hug me - I just need to know I'm not alone - I don't need questions or even talking, just physical contact.
Making it known that just because an everyday activity is easy for them doesn't mean it's easy for me.
Just because I may seem calm or even happy doesn't mean my mind isn't racing and I'm not glancing all around because I have to know who is around me at all times.
Being on time for things that you've made plans for, it is hard for my anxiety and me when someone is late. It is even harder for me when I am running late for things - as rarely as that happens.
Learning what my key signs are right before I have an anxiety attack is important to my coping skills.
Things Not to Say to Someone With Anxiety or During an Anxiety Attack
"You haven't always been this anxious"
"You’re embarrassing me/yourself"
"Why are you being so difficult?"
"You are faking"
"Why are you acting like a psycho/being crazy?"
Things to Remember When Someone You Love is Suffering From Anxiety
Help us to remember that we are still normal.
Don't create unnecessary suspense/drama/stress to the situation
Invite me to do "nothing" with you:
Understand that sometimes we just need some space
Just listen openly. DO NOT offer advice or try to hurry them along or try to shut them up or watch TV or play on your devices… Just Listen.
The main thing to remember is act like the person you would want if you suffered from anxiety.
Anxiety can be scary and can make you feel very alone even in a room full of your favorite people - let them know you are there for them in the way that is the most comforting for them, even if it isn't the most comfortable for you.
There is no one people exactly like another, we all have things we live with that aren’t exactly how we wish it were. Most of us are doing the very best we can to stumble our way through the dark so that we can come out the other side resembling something of a “normal” human being. Cut people some slack, none of us are perfect.
