Anxiety in modern times: why do we feel more and more anxious?
Feeling anxious or even living with anxiety is one of the most frequent problems in our modern world.
More and more people feel anxiety on a recurring basis. To what extent is living with anxiety related to our current way of living?
Human beings are emotional and social beings. We depend on our context, which influences and conditions us in our way of living, behaving, thinking and feeling. In turn, anxiety has already become the most frequent problem for requesting a psychological session or undergoing a process of change.
However, the solution to anxiety cannot be mass medication. In a world in which there are more and more courses, workshops, books and therapeutic techniques, we increasingly live on the edge of anxiety and discouragement.
In this article we are going to solve this paradox. We will have several objectives:
- That you delve into what anxiety is and how it is affecting you in your daily life
- That we see what is the relationship of anxiety with our modern world (globalized, hyper-consumerist and based on information on networks)
- That you begin to take the first steps to solve anxiety in a stable way (for this we We will base it on the real cases of the people I accompany in their change processes as a psychologist and coach).
Let's go for it.
What is anxiety and how does it come into your life?
anxiety is an unpleasant emotional and psychological state, close to anguish, that makes us live in a state of alert. When we live with anxiety it leads to exhaustion, intrusive thoughts, difficulties falling asleep or eating, etc.
In turn, it is common to feel an unpleasant sensation in the chest or pit of the stomach, which depending on the person can lead to other symptoms (gastric discomfort, chest or neck pain, migraines, etc.).
anxiety is a fear that has spread. We have become accustomed to living in fear, with alertness. It can occur in relation to a breakup, conflicts, sentimental crises, or when facing uncertainty (not knowing what is going to happen) or health problems.
- Related article: "Types of Anxiety Disorders and their characteristics"
Why does anxiety originate and how do you maintain it?
Let's see what are the factors that help to trigger and maintain the anxious response to an experience.
The first factor: managing emotions
Feeling fear or insecurity at certain times in our lives is natural. But when we don't know manage those emotionsThey can turn into anxiety. Anxiety is still a fear that has become widespread. Faced with certain fears and insecurities, we tend to avoid conflicts, or to observe details that make us think that our fears make sense (something very frequent in our digital age, as we will see more forward).
When this happens it is because we have difficulty understanding and managing our emotions. But the problem is not those emotions themselves but the way you manage them through your own behaviors.
- You may be interested in: "The 8 types of emotions (classification and description)"
Second factor: your way of breathing
Do you remember that unpleasant feeling in the chest or pit of the stomach so common when we feel anxiety? When anxiety arrives, it is due to our respiratory mechanics, that is, our way of breathing.
When faced with moments that cause us anxiety, we begin to breathe quickly and superficially.. The diaphragm does not work optimally, it ends up repeatedly pressing the pit of the stomach and hence the annoying sensation.
For this reason, to solve any problem you have with anxiety (either in your relationship relationship, breakup, work, personal life, etc.) it is essential that you work with your way of breathe. This is the first step with which we work in a process of change to reduce the intensity of anxiety (which will make everything easier for you on a day-to-day basis).
This is the real learning that we need (beyond the usual drug prescription).
- Related article: "The 4 types of breathing (and how to learn them in meditation)"
The relationship of anxiety with our modern world
What relationship does anxiety have with our modern world? Why do we feel more and more anxiety?
First of all, it is important that we reflect on the importance of context for our well-being and learning. Depending on the stimuli we can feel peace and openness or stress and confusion (a hyper-stimulating environment does not affect us the same as a more orderly one). In turn, we are conditioned by our way of life, collective beliefs and our routine.
Let's understand it according to three features of our current context.
The three traits of our modern era and how they influence anxiety
The first feature or factor is that we live in a hyper-consumer world, globalized and constantly exposed through social networks. Our context is then hyper-stimulating and consumer-oriented, which increases the number of daily activities. This causes us stress and exhausts us in an emotional and cognitive sense (which precipitates anxiety).
In second place, our context flows through social comparison. Being constantly exposed on social networks and at the same time polarized by information overload (today it is easier to think without nuances, which conditions us and prevents us from reflecting), it is common for us to compare ourselves with other models, which makes our self-esteem.
When we feel like we're living by a prearranged script, we feel more and more confused and helpless. purpose, which favors us feeling fear, insecurity, lack of control, and therefore, anxiety. One of the basic conditions of the human being to live in well-being is to be able to make your own decisions and that your well-being depends mainly on your actions and way of life.
The last factor is that of over-information. Every day we are exposed to a multitude of over-information that confuses and exhausts us., in addition to being caused by devices that work according to an addictive mechanism (mobile or smartphone). In the face of breakups, social networks are common with insistence, and more and more people look at their mobile phones as soon as they wake up and it is also the last thing they look at before going to sleep. This generates a greater addiction due to hyperstimulation, which impairs our anxious state.
The solution to anxiety is in your own personal change and learning
In summary: we live in a hyper-stimulating context, which dazes us with experiences but where we reflect less and less and find our own space. However, we cannot change that world or the context. What is in your hand is to know yourself and live a process of change that leads you to build your own context, more organic and beneficial.
We need to focus on various learnings.
5 lessons to overcome anxiety in our modern world
The first step to solving problems with anxiety, as I told you above, is learn to breathe fully. When we begin to work with breathing, we become aware of how it affects our state of mind, our way of thinking and acting. This first step is essential, since anxiety will progressively decrease in intensity thanks to your own learning (which will help you in a stable way).
The second step is learn to use technology, so that it is at your service but you do not get immersed in that addictive mechanism. In a process of change it is also common for us to work with how we use the mobile, so that it does not cause as much anxiety through its hyper stimulation.
The third step is build your own context, through a series of routines that lead you to calm, make your own decisions and that your well-being depends mainly on you. This will lead you to know yourself, to recover, and to find yourself again.
The fourth and most important step is learn to understand and manage your emotions, since that is the origin of the problems with anxiety. When we learn to manage them, fears, insecurities and discouragement are no longer so intense, frequent and long-lasting, and we can generate more acceptance, clarity and trust.
Finally, in the case of couple relationships, it is essential that we understand how are you approaching your relationships. When we approach them in a dependent way or demand or too many expectations are generated, emotional difficulties are often generated and the relationship is harmed. In turn, knowing how to set limits is necessary to live with well-being and autonomy.
Perhaps the most important thing in a psychological or personal change process is that all this learning come from you and that it be holistic, that is, working with all the parts of your personality. In my case, this is the reason why I do not accompany with occasional sessions, but constantly: every day, for any need that the person has and without limit of consultation, in addition to sessions and others tools.
Thus, we can address anxiety problems when they occur and deal with them in due course. If that's what you want, in Human Empowerment or on my Psychology and Mind author page you can contact me to schedule a first session to get to know each other, study your case and see how you can solve what happens to you when 100%.
Thanks for thinking of you, Ruben Camacho.
