We are hearing more about anxiety and feelings of anxiety than ever before, which means there is less secrecy and more willingness to talk about these feelings. Being more open about this in my view is a good thing.
Feeling anxious in certain situations can be a common reaction such as doing a bungee jump or sky dive!
Book a free 15-minute callThere is an element of the unknown, not something that is usually done everyday (so no real practice or familiarity with this) and an element of risk. Other situations where we may feel similarly anxious are starting a new job (although there could also be some excitement too). These feelings may help us focus our minds, motivate us and concentrate on the task at hand.
When we are faced with something unfamiliar, or when we have had an experience that did not go to plan or even scared us this can influence how we feel about doing that thing again or something similar. Particularly, if we have not processed the feelings and made sense of them.
Anxiety is something that is felt in the body as well as mentally. The signs can range from slightly faster heart beat, sweaty palms, quicker thoughts, some difficulty relaxing to name but a few through to fearing the worst and second guessing different scenarios to avoid the worst from happening, being too scared to leave comfortable/safe surroundings, feeling so anxious that a panic attack happens.
Situations that some people may find anxiety provoking others may not, it is about understanding how you as an individual feel in different situations and not comparing yourself to anyone else.
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Depending on how you view your anxiety, it may feel as though it gets in the way, causes distress and is inconvenient as it stops you from doing what you want or leaves you wondering how to manage it when in public and fear of other peoples judgement.
Anxiety essentially is useful when it does not severely impact on our day to day life. Its purpose thousands of years ago was to support us to take action when we needed to, in the moment, i.e. when we were under threat from a predator. Our environments and lives have changed and evolved with different stressors now and our brains being more sophisticated.
A natural reaction to avoid feeling anxious is to avoid the situation, this is only a short term measure and can be restrictive. It is also not getting to the core of what is causing the anxiety, understanding it and working with it rather than trying to avoid it or push it away.
The thought of a situation at times is actually worse than the reality of the situation. Gradually and slowly facing up to the situation that is causing the anxiety, is a more empowered long term action in trying to reduce the feelings of anxiety.
About therapyIf starting with the biggest source of anxiety seems too challenging, start smaller and naturally seeing and feeling the difference you may be propelled to build up to more challenging situations. Reassuring yourself like you would a friend may be helpful to bring about a more balanced view. When change has been made and action has been taken to face up to the anxiety, acknowledge this and the strides that have been taken. This may motivate you to do it again, along with reassuring yourself.
Breathing exercises can be a way of regulating your nervous system and in turn feel more grounding, it helps to focus on the here and now as the focus is on the breath. Looking at a situation and challenging negative thoughts may also be helpful, this can be done by acknowledging the thoughts and seeing if there is a kinder and more compassionate way of thinking about the situation.
Offering reassurance and encouragement along with reminding yourself of the times when difficult/scary things have been overcome will help reduce the feelings of anxiety.
Book a free 15-minute call and we can talk about what’s been happening for you.