A is for Anxiety…
Written by one of the most anxious people I know - Elizabeth Mead, LCSW
Is it hot in here? You start to feel your body warming up, even sweating, and as you become increasingly more uncomfortable in your own skin, your heart begins to quicken. This strange heaviness comes over your chest and you feel as though you may need to start gasping for air. Your extremities start to feel a little numb, maybe, and your head starts to feel fuzzy. This incredibly strong urge to GET OUT overcomes you. As these physical feelings escalate, your mind starts to unravel. Thoughts such as, “I’m having a heart attack”, “I can’t breathe”, “Not this again.” Welcome to the world of Anxiety 2.0. A life in which your mind and body are completely revolting against you. But, even more importantly, are sending you the message that enough is enough. It is time to address the source of these awful physical and psychological feelings.
What is Anxiety anyways? We use the terms anxiety and anxious on a regular basis to describe a variety of setting, situations and feelings. Anxiety, simply put, is the body’s response to stress. Ok, that makes sense. And stress is very different for different people. What I can tolerate may raise someone else’s stress to uncontrolled levels of anxiety and vice versa. Another piece to the puzzle is that we need stress to get stuff done. If we just strolled through life without any urgency, then we may not meet our deadlines, feel the need to give an impressive speech, or put your best foot forward at a new job.
From a biological standpoint, anxiety is ingrained in us as part of the animal species. Ok, quick bio lesson….the amygdala (in the brain) sends a distress (oh no!!!) signal, which tells the hypothalamus (also in our brain) to activate the sympathetic nervous system by sending more signals through the autonomic nerves to the adrenal glands. These glands then pump adrenaline into the bloodstream. This primitive form of activation leads to the avoidance of life-threatening situations (and still does for prey in the animal kingdom). Anxiety is intended to come and go, especially once the perceived threat has disappeared. The crappy part is when ordinary anxiety generalizes and becomes intense and debilitating to your everyday life.
Due to how abrupt and intense a panic attack feels, the majority of people will describe an attack as going on for hours of days. Here’s the intrigue. A panic attack is actually considered short in the grand scheme of things. A typical panic attack will reach it’s peak in less than 10 minutes. That being said, there are the outliers in which panic attacks can last anywhere from a few minutes, up to 30 minutes. Additionally, people can experience recurrent attacks in waves that can carry on for hours. As a panic attack subsides, the physical symptoms are the first stabilize. Unfortunately, with the amount of adrenaline stemming through your body without a proper release, you may feel exhaustion, muscle fatigue from tension, chills, GI distress such as diarrhea, nausea and constipation.
This type of anxiety can interfere with your ability to enjoy life and in extreme cases, or when it evolves into a panic disorder/panic attacks, anxiety can prevent you from doing things such as entering an elevator, driving a car, sleeping, going to work/school or even leaving your house.
All of that being said, I have both good and bad news. I’ll start with both. In America alone, anxiety is the most prevalent of all the mental health illnesses. We’re talking around 40 MILLION people. Whereas, most people who describe or experience anxiety, particularly with the addition of panic attacks, usually believe they are alone in these feelings. The amazing news: Anxiety is also the MOST TREATABLE mental health concern. Now, I wish I was about to give you a cure, a pill, a mantra, anything to ensure that you never have another panic attack again. But, you know, that’s not how our complex brains work.
The best news ever…we have all the tools to reduce and/or minimize anxiety and those pesky panic attacks. One of the most helpful coping mechanisms, particularly in the throes of a panic attack is to breathe. Yes, the thing that we do everyday, all day long, as long as we live. Breathe. Not hyperventilate, but take controlled breaths. It is proven that you cannot have a panic attack when you are breathing in a manner which tells your mind and body that you are not in danger. Another important tool is to become besties with your anxiety. Keep your enemies close! Recognizing and acknowledging your panic attack is taking some figment of control back. You cannot fight your biochemistry, embrace and observe. Figure out what works for you. Is it closing your eyes and using imagery? Is it focusing on an object and repeating a mantra? It it doing a body scan with muscle relaxation? Is it exercising or doing a seated or walking meditation?
There are endless means to address anxiety and minimize panic attacks. Find what works for you. This is not a one size fits all answer (although I seriously don’t get the one size fits all apparel industry either). Here’s my list of suggestions:
Find a therapist who specializes in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) or Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) or Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). It’s important to find out the origin of your anxiety & the beauty of these therapies are that they are not intended to last a lifetime.
Gain knowledge. Now, that doesn’t work for everyone. For some people reading about anxiety can induce anxiety. But, I think it is important at the very least to understand the biology of anxiety.
Practice meditation, breathing exercises and relaxation techniques. We are so fortunate to have access to TONS of mindfulness and meditation apps on our phones. Incredibly easy to access and you can do it anywhere!
Exercise. I hear the collective groan. Now, it does not mean joining CrossFit or Orange Theory. It also does not mean that you need a gym membership or to go to a yoga studio. But, it does tell your body that when your heart starts to race, you sweat and start to breathe hard due to exercise that those symptoms do not always equate a panic attack. Just go for a walk to start. The benefits are there.
Avoid smoking, vaping, alcohol and caffeine. Or at least explore moderation. They all act as stimulants and increase your heart rate, lead to dehydration (which increases your heart rate), and can act as triggers overall.
SLEEP!!!! I know. Easier said than done.
Particularly during this time of Covid, please know that you are not alone. Sending lots of healing, heart regulating, and cooling energy out there in the world to my fellow anxious peeps.