Have you ever felt anxious not being able to find a reason to justify it?, in this article we will explain why we can fall victim to this exhausting experience.
Anxiety for no reason is one of the most common problems found in the psychologist’s offices, it is normal for our body to be activated in some way by the environment to deal with the situation, however, there are times when no causal factors are identified for this activation. .
- Anxious people invest time and analytical skills to try to find a reasonable explanation for their body’s reaction.
- Especially when they haven’t found a reason right away; this eventually becomes an uncertainty that expresses anxiety in itself.
- So.
- Is it normal to have anxiety for No reason?.
“In our society, people spend millions of dollars a year to get rid of anxiety. The cost of visits to primary care physicians and the use of health services by people with anxiety disorders is twice that of those who do not have these disorders, although in the case of these disorders there is the presence of organic diseases. ?Barlow (2002)?
Anxiety can be seen as a forward-looking mood, accompanied by other emotions, such as fear, anxiety, etc. These characteristics of anxiety cause the person to experience a number of symptoms, such as:
These symptoms form what we call physical anxiety. One of the phenomena that the organism shares with other animals is that of very fast-track activation in the face of the perception of danger?activation of the sympathetic nervous system. For example:
Imagine opening the door of your house and encountering a hungry tiger, logically your first reaction will be to close the door as soon as possible to protect you, that is, did your activation system generate an alarm on the body, which produced an escape response (keep safe) ?.
The difference between animals and humans is that humans draw the logic of solving problems of internal sensations considered dangerous; that is, we can perceive danger, in addition to perceiving a threat, observing how our body behaves. emotions, thoughts and sensations so dangerous because they are unpleasant. Hence the anguish for no reason.
A logical way to solve some problems is to take steps to resolve the cause of the problem, however, there are situations where this logic does not work, an example:
If you don’t like the color of a wall, the solution may be more or less in your hands: buy a new paint, test how you want the wall, and, if you want, paint the entire wall. you feel anxious, what strategies would you put into practice?What happens next?
Anxiety can sometimes be adaptive and help manage problems; However, excessive fear or anxiety can interfere with effective action. When anxiety becomes pathological, people tend to associate unpleasant sensations with abnormal conditions, not to mention situations and times of the day when anxiety occurs.
This association with circumstances in which anxiety has already occurred creates the feeling of anxiety that appears “for no reason”. In addition, this occurs not only in the same associated circumstances, but also in those that share similar stimuli.
Attempts to find solutions can become a problem if they fail to control anxiety states. It is about entering a spiral in which attempts to control anxiety are rooted in the anxiety itself, being part of the problem. This can be explained with the following exercise:
Imagine right now a delicious chocolate cake, imagine its texture, its color, the smell of freshly baked oven, its flavor. . . Concentrate for a few seconds on the chocolate cake. Had?
Well, now try to wipe the cake out of your mind. When the image of the cake appears in your mind, do you think of a Ferrari?And it goes on for 30 seconds.
Now play the opposite game
WHITE ->
Night? >
Sweet? >
Ferrari? >
Just as you ended up associating a Ferrari with a chocolate cake, so do the anxiety-related situations. This is one of the reasons why we can feel anxiety for no reason.
One day you are on the beach watching the sunset, enjoying the moment and in seconds, your mind can remind you that for now you do not feel anxiety (a thought that, paradoxically, may end up activating your sympathetic nervous system).
This seems to be happening for no reason. However, the body has memory for life’s experiences (a flow of memories that doesn’t necessarily have to go through consciousness). In addition, these experiences cannot be removed, just as a bird cannot unlearn to fly.
The important thing is to recognize the state of anxiety when it appears, know the symptoms that are characteristic and, once they appear, be aware of what can be done in search of control and what it will cost in our lives. In this case, the option to seek specialized help is always good, especially if the anxiety is constant and prevents the fulfillment of daily responsibilities.