Maria doesn't stop looking at her watch. Whenever your daughter is late getting home, she constantly worries and becomes nervous. Her mind fills with thoughts imagining the worst: she has missed the bus, maybe there has been an accident and that is why she does not call me, and if something bad has happened to her ... For no particular reason, she puts herself in the worst of circumstances and only when her daughter finally gets home safely is Maria finally able to relax..
When we speak of anxiety we refer to the reaction or automatic response of our organism before different situations which sometimes we are not able to control; This reaction triggers our adaptation mechanism, preparing it for action (fight or flight).
A physiological reaction is then produced that manifests itself in a series of symptoms: increased heart rate, pupil dilation, muscle tension, dizziness and hyperventilation, etc..
Anxiety has an important basic survival function: it is a alarm system that is activated when a person perceives a danger or threat.
When we are going through stressful periods or situations in our life, it is normal to feel anxiety; things get complicated and worries come. So far we can say that we can handle the situation.
But things change when these sensations are continuous and last over time, making us feel constantly nervous, with difficulty sleeping at night, with dominant thoughts ... then we could speak of an anxiety disorder
The causes of anxiety disorder are associated with different reasons and we may not know how to identify these causes in a specific way, but it seems that they are associated with different genetic factors (hereditary and family), neurobiological (brain areas and organic substances), psychological, social and cultural.
In anxiety disorder, individual predisposition (personality) and those derived from the environment become important. In general, we perceive threats in situations that are not really dangerous but that trigger symptoms such as those described above, such as rapid breathing, abdominal pain, irregular heart rate, sweating, tremors, etc..
It is considered that approximately 20% of the population suffers anxiety episodes despite the fact that in most cases, they are not aware of it.
Anxiety disorders affect people of all ages - children, adolescents, and adults - and are among the most common mental health problems.
Its symptoms may come on suddenly or increase gradually, persisting until the person realizes that they are not well. The common factor in the different anxiety disorders is the intensity and frequency, totally disproportionate to the situation that interferes with the person's daily life and their happiness.
We can talk about different types of anxiety disorders, some of which are:
It is a very common anxiety disorder in which the person becomes worries excessively for various things such as health, family, the future, etc..
Worries feel like burdens that make life overwhelming or out of control. People who suffer from it tend to always put themselves in the worst that can happen and usually find it difficult to focus.
Obsessive compulsive disorder is characterized by the fact that the person suffering from it suffers from anxiety in the form of obsessions (recurring thoughts or ideas with fear) and compulsions (repetitive behaviors to try to control fear).
These behaviors can limit the daily activity of the person who suffers them. As an example, we could say that there is nothing wrong with checking if we have turned off the lights before leaving the house; the problem arises when after having checked if they are off, we repeat the same behavior over and over again thinking that if we don't, something bad will happen.
People with obsessive-compulsive disorder may feel the constant need to check things repeatedly, They may be obsessed with dirt and constantly wash their hands, check if the front door is closed over and over again, count or touch objects, worry about order and symmetry, accumulate objects because of the difficulty of getting rid of them, etc..
The person who suffers from them has an intense and persistent fear or fear of specific situations in advance, or of things that apparently are not dangerous, such as flying, heights, seeing blood, some animals, etc..
Intense anxiety triggered by an intense fear of feeling exposed or evaluated to strangers or to people you don't trust. People with this disorder often feel inferior or unacceptable because they perceive that they will be judged negatively by others.
In some people, social phobia can occur in very specific situations such as public speaking, while in others it occurs in most social relationships.
This type of disorder occurs when the individual has suffered a traumatic situation or terrifying, which has caused a strong emotional and stressful impact. The memories of the lived experience are recurrent, with constant fear or nightmares.
They are people who are often easily scared, who may feel more aggressive and who try to avoid situations that remind them of the original experience (accident or trauma). It is common in war fighters, people who have suffered violent attacks, etc..
The experience is stored in the brain in a dysfunctional way and the images tend to appear unexpectedly in the person with relative frequency, causing them great discomfort. If the emotional impact is very great, this discomfort could last for years.
They are episodes of anxiety that appear in an isolated and temporary way and that can occur for no apparent reason. The person suffering from a panic attack or anxiety crisis is characterized by a series of sudden and intense physiological symptoms such as palpitations, shortness of breath, choking sensation, dizziness, tingling sensation, etc., which are caused by the response of our body in the face of fear.
The person may even have the feeling that you are going to die, despite being aware that these sensations are not the product of reason. Its frequency can vary from several times a day to once every few years.
It is usually related to panic attacks. The person who suffers it makes them avoid going to any place where they feel that fear could make them suffer a panic attack or feel an irrational fear of not being able to count on the help of others in times of urgency.
Anticipation of panic attacks plays a very important role in this anxiety disorder, as if it were a “self-fulfilling prophecy” effect. People with agoraphobia avoid traveling anywhere other than their home or workplace, making it difficult for them to leave home.
Family, partner and friends are essential when helping a person who suffers from an anxiety disorder.
We must realize that people who suffer from anxiety can feel strange; the physical sensations that appear and that can occur for no apparent reason, makes the person suffering from them feel scared, unprotected and overwhelmed for any small circumstance, affecting your day to day.
Helping someone with anxiety is not an easy task and requires a lot of empathy and patience.
It will be useless to tell someone who is suffering from anxiety phrases like "Calm down, this is nothing", or "You have to take things differently", the only thing these phrases can do is make the person feel worse and take more distance.
Remember that there are no quick exits in these types of disorders, but some guidelines can help:
Offering your help and telling him that you are by his side. Act calm but decisively, in such a way that the person feels that you are their point of support at that moment and that they are not alone.
Inhaling and exhaling, in such a way that you help her to control your breathing, because in a panic attack one of the main symptoms is hyperventilation.
You can talk to her while you breathe with her, making her focus or direct her attention, for example to a fixed stimulus or to your own breathing, trying to keep her eye contact with you..
And allow your space and time to reply. Don't pressure her by saying things like "Do you see how it is nothing?". Each person needs their time to regain control over themselves.
In general, we tend to think that limiting emotions are best repressed. Sadness, anxiety, fear, must be expressed in one way or another.
Encourage the person little by little to express what is happening in such a way that it gives the necessary space to the emotion that is feeling at all times, as it is the best way to release tension and fear.
You can also encourage her to regularly practice some activity that allows her discharge your pent-up energy, like dancing, playing sports, singing, etc..
Remember that you can be of great help to someone who suffers from anxiety and that making that person feel that you are part of their most difficult moments will be something very positive for them..
She values what worries her at all times, without judge her, empathizing in your relationship with her and how every emotion she may feel affects her.
Being aware of always wanting the best for those we love is the first step in maintaining the balance of our mental health. Do not forget that a small advance will always be a great victory.
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