Anxiety

 

Anxiety is an accepted part of life for many people and yet it doesn’t have to be. It is also a much larger issue than is recognised as show by the eye-opening statistics below:

·     The World Health Organization (WHO) tells us that a huge 40% of all disabilities worldwide are due to Anxiety and Depression [1]

·     According to the Psychiatric Morbidity Survey there are currently 3million people in the UK with Anxiety as their primary mental health problem [2]

·     Anxiety disorders are very common. In a survey covering Great Britain, 1 in 6 adults had experienced some form of ‘neurotic health problem’ in the previous week [3]

·     Suffering from more than one anxiety disorder at a time is quite common with an Anxiety study telling us that 70% of suffers have the symptoms of 3 or more anxiety conditions [4]

·     It is estimated that only 15% of sufferers are seeking help for their Anxiety [5]

As a Psychologist and Coach and most importantly as a business owner, I understand the impact that anxiety can have on people. I often work with clients on how to manage their anxieties and felt that I should share a few tips with those who need some advice. First of all it’s important to understand what Anxiety is.

How Anxiety manifest itself in your BODY:

  • a churning feeling in your stomach

  • feeling light-headed or dizzy

  • pins and needles

  • feeling restless or unable to sit still

  • headaches, backache or other aches and pains

  • faster breathing a fast, thumping or irregular heartbeat

  • sweating or hot flushes

  • problems sleeping

  • grinding your teeth, especially at night

  • nausea (feeling sick)

  • needing the toilet more or less often

  • changes in your sex drive

  • having panic attacks.

How Anxiety effects your MIND:

  • feeling tense, nervous or unable to relax

  • having a sense of dread, or fearing the worst

  • feeling like the world is speeding up or slowing down

  • feeling like other people can see you're anxious and are looking at you

  • feeling like you can't stop worrying, or that bad things will happen if you stop worrying

  • worrying about anxiety itself, for example worrying about when panic attacks might happen

  • wanting lots of reassurance from other people or worrying that people are angry or upset with you

  • worrying that you're losing touch with reality

  • rumination – thinking a lot about bad experiences, or thinking over a situation again and again

  • depersonalisation – feeling disconnected from your mind or body, or like you're watching someone else (this is a type of dissociation)

  • derealisation – feeling disconnected from the world around you, or like the world isn't real (this is a type of dissociation)

  • worrying a lot about things that might happen in the future – you can read more about these sorts of worries on the Anxiety UK website.

Do you think that you may have Anxiety?

Quite often people are suffering with Anxiety, and they don’t even realise because it’s become so normal to their existence.

“Anxiety is a type of fear usually associated with the thought of a threat or something going wrong in the future but can also arise from something happening right now.” [6]

What causes Anxiety?

There are many triggers to anxiety however, here are the most common reasons:

  • Physical factors (e.g. thyroid problems)

  • Childhood environment

  • Genetic predispositions

  • Biochemical imbalances (changes in the levels of chemical messengers in the brain)

Current issues or problems in your life and work can also trigger anxiety. For example,[7]:

  • exhaustion or a build-up of stress

  • long working hours

  • being out of work

  • feeling under pressure while studying or in work

  • having money problems

  • homelessness or housing problems

  • losing someone close to you

  • feeling lonely or isolated

  • being bullied, harassed or abused.

There is no quick fix to ‘cure’ Anxiety, the solution lies within you – if you want to learn more about overcoming anxiety do get in touch Danni@DannielleHaig.com.

You can click here for some ideas on how to manage your anxiety so that it doesn’t take a hold of your life.

 

[1] WHO (2002), The Global Burden of Disease

[2] Psychiatric Morbidity Survey (2000)

[3] Office for National Statistics. ‘Surveys of Psychiatric Morbidity in Great Britain. Report 1 – The prevalence of psychiatric morbidity among adults living in private households.’ The Stationery Office. 1995

[4] https://www.anxietyuk.org.uk/get-help/anxiety-information/frequently-asked-questions/

[5] Mental Health Foundation (2009). In the face of fear.

[6] https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/statistics/mental-health-statistics-anxiety

[7] https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/anxiety-and-panic-attacks/causes-of-anxiety/#.WwK_S9MvwWo

Dannielle Haig