Anxiety disorders are one of the most common and common psychological problems in our population; in particular, they occupy a second place, after substance use disorders such as smoking and alcoholism, which tells us that we should not be unaware of their importance, and it is necessary to apply the best strategies and resources to overcome anxiety when it arises. Meeting needs is one of them.
Given its impact and importance on the population, we will try in this article to identify how anxiety relates to one of its main risk factors: ignoring personal needs or placing them at the bottom of our priority scale.
- Today.
- We are at a time when anxiety is treated as a disease.
- Forgetting that.
- More than a disorder.
- It is an alarm system: one of the ways our body and mind use to tell us that something is not right.
Over-pathologizing has developed many treatments to overcome anxiety, but most of them have a big flaw: treating only symptoms, setting aside the origin and what keeps it. This type of symptomatic treatment fails because it doesn’t. attacks the causes of anxiety, but focuses on its manifestations.
This emotional state does not respond to a single cause, among the most common, sustained stress over time or the feeling that there is a significant difference between our ‘ideal self’ and our ‘real self’. In other words, if the difference between the type of life I have and the type of life I would like is perceived as large or insurmountable, anxiety is likely to appear.
In other words, one of the most common causes of anxiety is not meeting our personal needs, if for a long time we live life on autopilot and do not create the gift we want, a warning signal will jump into our psychological system: anxiety.
When a person does not meet their needs — more time for themselves, more free time, less contact with certain people around them or a lower workload or home/family–, day after day, is exposed to an environment that is somehow hostile, uncomfortable and unsatisfactory. These negative feelings maintained over time cause anxiety.
“Being happy means you realize you have what you’re looking for. -Alan Cohen-
There is nothing wrong with making sacrifices and fulfilling obligations that do not attract us, but if it becomes the usual main note of our lives, we have a problem. When this mode of operation is adopted indefinitely and the needs of each individual are not met, our mind has a way of telling us that we are not doing well. Our minds can tell us that this is not the right way, that life is not satisfactory, and that changes must be made. To give us that touch of attention, there’s anxiety.
When does a person start having symptoms of anxiety?Tachycardias, dizziness, sweating or feeling disconnected from reality, etc. What is mainly done in therapy is to attack these symptoms, and this approach or way of working is correct, but insufficient in the long term. If this emotional state continues over time, it’s because there’s something that nourishes it. It may be what generated it or something else; in any case, until we can intervene, it will continue to cause damage.
Anxiety is an alarm system that tells us to make changes. These changes depend on the person in question, in some cases they may be related to work, in others to married life, family relationships, children, etc. In this sense, each case is unique and specific, but the vast majority have in common the sacrifice of personal needs or values.
To overcome anxiety, personal work must be done to improve emotional self-awareness, cultivate the values and needs of each. In the short term, it is correct that the treatment of anxiety focuses on the symptoms of anxiety, but this is not enough. because at the origin of the vast majority of anxiety disorders there is a lack of life satisfaction, so if anxiety therapy does not focus on creating a new and better life project, the anxiety will be temporarily covered, but the underlying problem will go away. continue to exist.
The first step is to resort to therapy, it seems very easy or obvious, but it is the most common mistake people make: trying to solve a problem that requires specialized professional care without help and on your own. Effective treatment begins by addressing anxiety symptoms, so that later the person can set goals and make changes in their life that allow them to satisfy their deepest desires.
“If you want to be happy, set a goal that guides your thoughts, releases your energy and inspires your hopes. -Andrew Carnegie-
Once the most disabling anxiety symptoms have been controlled, to have a total overtaking it is necessary to work on personal development; In this work a very important part will be learning to dedicate time and space to personal needs, this can be a difficult path, since the person is asked to answer questions that have never been asked, such as:?What do I need?
Asking these questions and having the help of a psychologist paves the way to overcome anxiety, if you have such a disorder, take the first step, ask for help and start listening to your deepest desires and needs, it is the most effective way to start. a new life, free and without anxiety.