Anxiety can come across as a normal feeling of restlessness that stems from everyday stress. We consider it to simply ‘go away with time as we try to rewire our minds for happiness. But the longstanding question remains, does it help solve the root cause? Studies suggest that despite anxiety disorders being highly treatable, only 36.9% of those who suffer receive proper treatment. Who is at risk of anxiety disorders, what creates it, and how can we heal our pain and suffering from anxiety?
Who is at risk of anxiety disorders?
As unusual as it may seem, anxiety disorders could be a result of genetic and environmental factors that an individual is subjected to. However, the risk of being exposed to such problems may increase with other factors too.
We have enlisted a handful of causes that lead to anxiety –
- Personality traits such as being uncomfortable in unfamiliar settings, or with unknown people.
- Traumatic events in childhood or adolescence
- A family history of mental health issues
- Certain physical health conditions like thyroid issues or unusual heart rhythms.
Surprisingly, the causes can also be based on gender. Women are more likely to experience anxiety than men. This may be due to the fluctuating hormones that they experience through their menstrual cycle.
This is less common in men, as they have a high level of testosterone.
So what exactly creates anxiety?
The factors can range from your daily stressful tasks to unchecked past trauma. Until and unless rectified, the trauma is bound to keep showing up and meddle with your daily affairs.
As you feel out of sync with your life, and experience daily stress affecting your work and personal life, there is something definitely wrong. It can be more than the usual stress you face. As you feel out of sync, angel numbers like 777 can guide you if you are on the right path.
To help you understand and identify anxiety, we have listed below the common causes
People need to draw a line between how anxiety disorders aren’t a form of personality weakness or a flaw that arises out of a list of factors. But with the combination of multiple factors, it is difficult to put a finger on what exactly causes anxiety. The following points may help you with the same.
Chemical imbalance issues
Since these issues aren’t as apparent as the physical signs, they are more likely to go unnoticed in the garb of daily stress.
Given the number of tasks and stress one balances, it often leads to a chemical imbalance that can severely impact your mood in the long run. Experiencing the same issues for a long period can cause an anxiety disorder.
Environmental factors
Experiencing regular traumatic events in your daily life can also act as a trigger.
This can turn out to be a higher risk factor for those who have a family history of mental health disorders.
Family history
Mental health disorders often run in the family lineage.
Just like in cases of inheriting the physical traits of your immediate or extended family, it is highly likely that you may inherit some of the anxiety disorders too.
The symptoms of these issues may vary highly depending on the severity and how often you experience them. These symptoms may be identified under the divisions of physical, mental, and behavioral symptoms.
How Can You Heal and Ease Your Pain From Anxiety?
Some of the Best Ways to Heal From Stress and Anxiety Include:
- Stress management techniques
Adopt stress management techniques like meditation, breathing exercises, visualization, and mindfulness.
These techniques might be tricky to incorporate into your lifestyle initially. You may want to take the help of your peers or certain groups that practice these techniques regularly.
You can also try these 5 yogic breathing exercises for anxiety – deep and slow breaths serve the purpose of activating the parasympathetic nervous system, the goal of which is to induce calmness and relaxation. And another option is to use yoga to activate the Vagus nerve for less stress and anxiety. This is the longest craniosacral nerve in our body which is in charge of our wellbeing.
- Support groups
Due to the pandemic, you can find these groups both online and in person. These support groups can help you follow a healthier lifestyle, tell your story, and consider your strategies. If you have given up habits such as smoking, then practicing Pranayama can help work to detox your lungs naturally, making you feel healthier and stronger.
- Get knowledge
Learn more about your conditions and the type of disorders you face. You can get more information on these topics with resources like ebooks, podcasts, online communities and forums, and online videos. Anxiety might make you feel listless, however, one can also opt for tarot reading services to gain more knowledge about their current situation.
These resources can help you identify such problems at the earliest while they help you seek medical support.
You can even consider working to unblock and balance your chakras.
- Follow a healthy lifestyle
To see long-term results, it is important to follow a healthy lifestyle. This lifestyle includes a healthy diet, daily exercise, and a stress-free routine.
For example – Eliminating caffeine from your diet may also help since patients have found caffeine to worsen their symptoms. Another issue is skipping meals, which may also trigger these feelings.
Getting into substance abuse like alcohol and drugs can also initiate or worsen the symptoms of mental health disorders.
Healing and Dealing with Anxiety – In a nutshell
You can best deal with anxiety and try to heal and reduce it with professional help.
If the doctor doesn’t see any signs of physical issues, you may move on to seeking the help of a psychiatrist or seek therapy on their advice.
These mental health professionals specialize in identifying the issues that usually go unnoticed or are hidden in plain sight.
With their interview and assessment techniques, they can put a finger on the issues that are causing trouble to the individual.
The assessment is usually done on the intensity of the symptoms, how often they occur, and how it hinders your daily process.
Anti-anxiety medications and antidepressants may help to heal the issue as prescribed by the psychiatrist. Further, the psychiatrist may also suggest therapies like Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) or Exposure therapy to do an in-depth evaluation and healing.
On an individual level, you can opt for medications, following a healthy lifestyle, and seeking help from either your dear ones. The best way still remains to seek help from mental health professionals.
If these issues are left unchecked for a long time, then they can hinder your development, personal and professional relations, work performance, social functioning, and self-esteem. If unchecked for a longer time, it may lead to an increased intensity and even more difficulty in healing it.
Michael Stephenson – Guest Contributor, L’Aquila Active
Learn more about Michael by reading his bio below.
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