Anxiety 101 and 4 Tips to Reduce It
What is anxiety?
Anxiety is an evolutionary mechanism our bodies have to keep us safe from danger. It puts our body, including our brain, on alert, so we can better spot danger and then react to it more effectively. Unfortunately, our body only knows how to react one way, so it treats all types of perceived danger the same way - as if it's a physical threat. That's why we'll have the same body tension and mental fixation on problems that have nothing to do with our physical safety, like threats to our social, marital, financial, or emotional wellbeing.
What causes sudden onset of anxiety? Why is my anxiety spiking?
Anxiety spikes are an activation of the body's "fight-or-flight" system, a hardwired physiological reaction to when we think we're in danger in some way. Our heart beats faster, we become tense, we may feel hot or dizzy, and our body fills with energy - all so that we can theoretically hit harder (fight) or run away faster (flight) to deal with the danger.
However, this fight-or-flight response is activated when we sense any sort of threat, not just a threat to our physical health. As such, we have this same physical reaction to all threats, such as emotional, financial, or social threats, even though the reaction in our bodies won't actually help us in these circumstances.
Anxiety spikes when we perceive a threat—real or imagined.
Can someone suddenly develop anxiety?
It's certainly possible for someone to suddenly develop anxiety, although it's more common for the anxiety to build over time. Either way, what matters most is how someone deals with the anxiety after it appears - if they start engaging in avoidance and safety behaviors, it could stick around for a very long time. You can learn more about avoidance and safety behaviors on my video blog here.
What are signs of anxiety?
Symptoms of anxiety can take different forms, but generally center around either being physically and mentally very agitated, or engaging in activities to try to avoid or manage that activation. Common symptoms of a more generalized anxiety or sense of worry can include:
Body tension or other physical complaints
Difficulty controlling your worries once you start
Always having something that you're worrying about
Losing your appetite due to worry
Difficulty falling asleep due to anxious thoughts, or waking up and struggling to fall back asleep due to anxious thoughts
Feeling "on edge" all the time
Being irritable with others
Anxiety may also take the form of panic attacks - a period of time where your body perceives an immediate threat and goes into "fight or flight" mode to help you neutralize or escape the perceived danger. Symptoms of panic attacks can include:
Racing heart
Feeling warm or hot
Dizziness
Nausea
Tingling in hands or feet
Thoughts that something catastrophic is going to happen, like a heart attack, permanently "going crazy," crashing your car, or embarrassing yourself
Feeling like you need to escape and making sure you can exit a situation
Feeling like you need to urgently use the bathroom
Anxiety also sometimes takes the form of repetitive behaviors that someone engages in to soothe themselves, otherwise known as Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. In this case, someone will feel like they "have to" complete a certain ritual or they will experience intense anxiety and a feeling that something terrible will happen. These rituals can include any number of different things, including excessive cleaning, counting, touching patterns, checking locks/stoves, physical tics, or others. We all have some of these tendencies, but if you have OCD, these behaviors take a significant amount of time, and space in your head, every day.
How can I calm my anxiety quickly?
There's no magic bullet for acute anxiety or panic attacks outside being prescribed certain medications - these types of medications are habit-forming, however, so it's not recommended to rely on medication to cope with acute anxiety for a prolonged period of time.
Despite this, there are some psychological tricks that can help you cope with anxiety effectively and get it to recede sooner, even if the results aren't immediate. Try these out:
Breathe deep. When we engage in deep breathing (also known as diaphragmatic breathing), we use our body which sends a signal to our mind that we're safe and everything is OK. It doesn't short-circuit anxiety or a panic attack, it but does help calm it down much more quickly. For instructions on how to breathe correctly for diaphragmatic breathing, please listen to my tutorial here.
Stay in the moment. Anxiety is all about worrying about something happening in the future - if you can keep your mind focused on what's right in front of you, you won't feed into the anxiety continuing. An easy way to stay grounded in the present is to really focus deeply on your breathing - the natural rhythm of the tension and release of breath. You can also involve other senses: a commonly used technique is called 5-4-3-2-1, where you find 5 items you can see, 4 sounds you can hear, 3 textures you can touch, 2 odors you can smell (or imagine smelling), and 1 flavor you can taste (or imagine tasting). Whatever you choose, the focus should be in the present moment, and should be something inherently neutral or calm.
Remember, anxiety can't hurt you. Oftentimes an anxiety spike feels very threatening and real, and you may worry that you're having a heart attack or that some other negative physical outcome will occur. Keep in mind: these thoughts are normal to have during an anxiety spike, and they are simply untrue. Anxiety is uncomfortable, but not inherently harmful at any given moment. Try viewing your anxiety like bad heartburn: it's uncomfortable, but it's ultimately not going to hurt you. Putting anxiety in its place can lower how strongly you react to it, thereby helping it resolve more quickly.
What’s the best way to talk to someone else about your anxiety?
The most important element of speaking to someone you trust about your feelings is to be genuine and vulnerable. Remember: if someone cares about you, sharing your struggles generally isn't seen as a burden - they usually feel thankful that you're opening up, and grateful that they are able to help. If you can be open and vulnerable you give yourself the chance to be seen and understood, which can be a tremendous relief, even if the anxiety doesn't immediately go away.
If you are looking for help, more information is available on my website related to working with me for online therapy for stress and anxiety—in addition to my concierge therapy practice, I also have a small in-network practice with Equipoise Teletherapy in Chicago. For any other questions, please feel free to reach out to me directly!