What Is Anxiety and what are the Different Methods of Treating It
63Anxiety is in many instances, a temporary response to real or imagined threats that an individual experiences or believes that he or she is going to experience. This feeling is typically caused by a number of internal chemical responses that many believe are tied to the fight or flight reaction that has always been part of human experience. Danger is sensed, the body responds on a chemical level and the individual reacts. Unfortunately, however, when no reaction is required, anxiety can become a very damaging emotion and can even be experienced as chronic condition in which people can feel anxious at any given time and without any real and rational cause. Identifying anxiety and the most effective ways for dealing with it has become a very common concern, due to the high prevalence of this health issue.
What Is Anxiety In Its Most Basic Sense?
At its most basic, anxiety is simply apprehension or fear. Once this fear or apprehension exceeds the normal expectations for the response to a given situation or experience, however, it may be likely that a more serious issue exists. For instance, GAD sufferers, or those who suffer from Generalized Anxiety Disorder, will constantly feel anxious even though they are hard put to identify the source of this emotion. This disorder is often linked to disruptions in chemical responses in the brain and will usually be treated in a physiological capacity through the use of prescription drugs or other, more natural efforts to restore optimal brain function.
Phobias and and panic disorder are commonly associated with chronic anxiety as well. Phobias, however, are most often linked to deep seeded mental and emotional issues that trigger irrational responses to certain events. Phobias are thus treated as mental health issues and are commonly resolved in a therapy setting. Panic disorder and panic attacks are also both dealt with in a therapy setting, however, in some instances, doctors will prescribe pharmaceutical therapies that address certain physiological issues that are at the source of panic episodes.
Resolving Anxiety
For those dealing with moderate levels of anxiety for which there is a practical and justifiable cause, certain life changes may facilitate improved emotional balance and enhanced mental functioning and clarity. As an emotion, anxiety is both natural and expected in certain instances, due to its ability to incite action, most specifically, protective or preventative action. When anxiety renders an individual incapable of action, however, it ceases to become a useful emotion and should be addressed and resolved. For chronic sufferers of anxiety, this is most often the case.
In the physiological sense, moderate levels of anxiety can often be easily addressed by increasing physical activity levels, especially when the anxiety is at its greatest heights. When it is in a panicked state the body will often perform erratically in a number of its functions. When you feel anxious you are likely to breathe harder while absorbing and distributing oxygen less effectively. Anxiety can even make you suffer from a rapid and irregular heartbeat. People who are anxious will also sweat more than their non-anxious counterparts and this sweat can be noticeably more odorous than the sweat that is produced by a good workout or other form of physical exertion.
A brisk walk, however, has been shown to have a regulating effect on all of these things. This is especially true when there is opposite leg and arm motions used with each stride as this promotes balance and increased mental acuity. This increase in mental focus along with the improvements in both circulation and respiration that are gained, help to promote a line of thinking that is far more practical than that of thought that is produced under the pressure and stress of anxiety. Dietary improvements and the use of herbal supplements can facilitate improvements in both short-term and chronic anxiety, however, those who are suffering from chronic anxiety will need to receive professional medical consultation in order to design and implement an effective natural or prescribed treatment for this more serious health condition.
The author has spent a lot of time learning about Anxiety and other related topics. Read more about What is Anxiety at the author's website.
