Who has never been nervous before a test, before a declaration of love or during a public performance?This unpleasant state of agitation, to some extent normal, can acquire really alarming dimensions, which can even prevent the person from developing normally.
In these cases, anxiety becomes a powerful barrier that prevents us from moving forward in life, generating unnecessary suffering, but why do we feel anxious and what can we do to resolve this situation?
- Anxiety is a very complex response because it involves thoughts.
- Emotions.
- As well as physiological and behavioral reactions.
- This avalanche is triggered when certain events or circumstances are perceived as threats to our physical or psychological integrity.
- However.
- It should be clear that anxiety is not the same as fear.
Fear is the basic and automatic assessment of danger, while anxiety is a more lasting threat state that involves more thinking than fear. The dark thoughts that accompany states of anxiety are related to lack of control, uncertainty, vulnerability (or impotence) and the inability to achieve desired results.
It is based on false assumptions or inappropriate reasoning about the threat or potential harm.
This interferes with a person’s ability to cope with adverse or difficult circumstances.
It is present for an extended period of time
Many symptoms are physiological (excessive sweating, tachycardia, redness or paleness of the skin, etc. )
What makes anxiety so devastating is vulnerability, that terrible feeling makes us feel at the mercy of internal or external dangers over which we have no control, so the uncontrollability we have ends up being insufficient to make us feel safe.
In anxiety, this increased sense of vulnerability manifests itself in the exaggerated anticipation of possible damage to natural or safe stimuli; at the same time, when we are anxious we ignore the safety signs present in situations that we consider threatening. a public presentation, we will ignore all the previous preparation we have had and the positive results we have achieved in previous presentations.
Therefore, the intensity of a state of anxiety depends on the balance between initial threat assessment and subsequent assessment of safety and coping capacity.
We’ve already seen what anxiety is and how it occurs, so let’s start exploring a few concrete steps to keep it going:
Ask yourself what’s the worst thing that could happen to you in this situation and what you would say to relieve anxiety and make sure everything goes well, this will allow you to re-evaluate the perception of threat and vulnerability to the situation that generates anxiety.
Recognize the positive results you’ve achieved in the past by dealing with these types of situations, to reinforce your perception of personal success and thus feel less vulnerable.
Meditation, relaxation and breathing techniques will automatically free you from this unpleasant mental, emotional and physiological state of anxiety. Don’t hesitate to use these valuable resources.
If even when applying these measures anxiety persists and interferes with its normal development, it is best to consult a specialist.
But you know what? Anxiety is not so severe, in a small proportion it can help us to be active and prepare for a challenge and even to protect ourselves from danger, or even to avoid it, but when we know that this prevents us from moving forward, because our minds are out of control, then it is time to control those feelings with concrete and truly effective weapons.
Image Credits: Muchael Korchia