Psychoeducation of anxiety

Anxiety is a mental and physical response that occurs in situations that we interpret as dangerous. It is a normal reaction that anyone can experience on occasion, for example, when speaking in public, when we have an important appointment or before an exam.

This physical and mental sensation, coming from a primary emotion, fear, can provide us with help to escape. of what we consider dangerous, or, give us additional energy to get out of this situation of danger.

Since the symptomatology of anxiety is unpleasant, we can tend to see it as an enemy, in Instead of seeing it for what it is, a defense mechanism, an alarm that warns us and helps us in the face of danger. Therefore, the objective will not be to avoid or eliminate it, but to learn to listen to it and to manage it.

Anxiety can become a "problem" when symptoms are very severe, they last too long, they are very frequent, they appear in situations that really should not be interpreted as dangerous or stressful or, in general, if it limits our day to day, turning us into dysfunctional people, instead of functional.

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How can we identify anxiety?

What we think, what we do or how our body reacts, can be manifestations of anxiety. Thus, anxiety appears on a cognitive level, motor level or physiological level.

On a cognitive level, there are thoughts that appear in the mind automatically when we feel anxiety. These thoughts tend to be irrational, such as: "I'm going to die," "This is horrible," "I won't be able to bear it," "I'm going to go crazy," and so on. The mind is warning us of a much greater danger than we actually have to face.

With regard to the behavioral level, when we suffer from anxiety we are likely to avoid things, for example, going out alone or talking to people. When we avoid the situation that generates anxiety, we immediately feel better; But in the long term, avoidance will generate an association between anxiety and what is avoided, making coping more difficult.

Also, anxiety too it can make us feel like we should do certain things, for example, repeatedly checking if all the doors of the house are closed or if all the furniture is free of dust. Other behaviors like hypervigilance or talking fast (even messing up words) can also occur in people who suffer from anxiety.

Finally, at a physiological level, we can highlight numerous symptoms that arise as a form of preparing the body to deal with a suspected threat. They are usually very unpleasant and, sometimes, they can appear without us identifying any reason. However, these symptoms are not dangerous and will not harm us. For example: headache, palpitations or tachycardia, feeling of suffocation, rapid and shallow breathing, tightness in the chest, sweating in the extremities, tremors, blurred vision, dizziness, chills, dry mouth, tiredness, ringing in the ears, muscle tension, upset stomach, nausea, frequent urination, etc. Most people only experience some of these symptoms, not all.

Thus, we can begin to notice anxiety through thoughts, behavior or the body, and the anxiety reaction in each of these areas influences the others. This keeps the body "on alert", creating a vicious cycle that keeps anxiety going.

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Why does anxiety appear?

Today, we can say that there are numerous factors that can trigger anxiety. It can often be started when we are going through significant periods of stress.. For example: pressure at work, taking exams, loss of someone close, financial problems, lack of sleep or diagnosis of a disease.

When we feel stress, a response that has been present since prehistoric times and that helped our predecessors to survive is set in motion. Our body releases adrenaline, preparing us to "escape" or "fight" the moment the threat appears.

In this way, a series of physical changes take place: muscles tense in readiness to flee or fight, the heart beats faster to get blood to the brain and muscles (where it is most needed at that time), breathing speeds up to provide the necessary oxygen and thus generate sufficient energy, etc. Once the threat is overcome or disappears, this response fades, and a feeling of exhaustion may appear.

Taking the foregoing into account, it is possible to react in this way to a series of things that concern us. When we feel constantly overwhelmed by significant concerns for us, the body is constantly "on alert", appearing the symptoms of anxiety.

It must be borne in mind that there are people who have a greater predisposition to suffer from anxiety than others, such as those who have an anxious personality or who have had difficult experiences during their childhood, etc.

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What is an anxiety attack and what can I do at that time?

An anxiety attack can be defined as the sudden onset of intense fear or intense discomfort that reaches its maximum expression in minutes and, in that time, symptoms such as: palpitations, sweating, trembling, feeling of suffocation or suffocation, pain in the chest, nausea, dizziness, chills, tingling, derealization or depersonalization, fear of losing control or To die.

When a danger signal is perceived or anticipated, the brain sends messages to the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS). This system, as its name suggests, works autonomously, that is, without our will interceding. It has two branches: Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) and Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS). The SNS activates the fight or flight response and the SNP is responsible for returning the body to its normal state.

In this way, the activity of the SNS has a limit, which means that anxiety cannot continue forever or increase to levels that generate damage, since the PNS is a protective system that will take the body to a state of relaxation, preventing the SNS from running its course without control.

As we have said before, when we are faced with a danger, our body carries out a response that, in most cases, involves a very common symptom: hyperventilation. When you breathe quickly, carbon dioxide decreases in the blood, altering its pH and, in turn, generating other symptoms such as dizziness, tingling, palpitations, etc., already discussed.

Thus, it is important that, during an anxiety attack, we try to breathe slowly, inhaling little oxygen; let's connect with our environment; keep in mind that we are not going to die or suffer any harm, as the symptoms are unpleasant, but they will pass. We are not going to “go crazy” either.

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Can I control anxiety?

I'm sorry to tell you that anxiety cannot be controlled, since if it were, it would be enough to make it not appear or we could quickly eliminate it from our interior if it did.

But the fact that it cannot be controlled does not mean that it cannot be managed when it appears. Carrying out good emotional management is synonymous with well-being.

In order to manage anxiety we need to know what it is and how it works, that is, take into account the previous points. In addition, we can learn and practice a series of techniques or tools that will help us cope with emotion in an adaptive way, for example, cognitive restructuring, problem solving or diaphragmatic breathing.

Author: Maribel Martín, Psychologist at Centro Rapport Psicología