Written by: Laryssa Levesque, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Anxiety is a normal part of life that we have all experienced at one point or another. However, individuals who suffer from chronic anxiety or an anxiety disorder, experience anxiety to the extreme, which necessitates good coping skills to manage their anxiety better and ultimately be happier and healthier.
What is Anxiety?
Anxiety is a natural fear response to a perceived threat. We can experience it on an emotional, cognitive, and physical level and there is usually some type of behavioural response to it as well. For instance, someone who is in an anxious state might feel overwhelmed or nervous, have thoughts like “I can’t do this” or “something bad is going to happen”, and their body might be tense and sweaty, and they be having a hard time breathing. Typical responses to anxiety include escaping the threat (e.g., leaving a party early) or avoiding it altogether. Someone might also appear tearful, withdrawn, or disconnected when it an anxious state.
What Causes Anxiety?
At the heart of anxiety is fear; specifically, fear of the unknown or uncertainty. Anything that someone perceives as scary or unfamiliar can trigger anxiety. The threat sends signals to our brain and body to either fight, flight or freeze to cope with it. Again, these responses can look different for everyone, so it is important to not compare and judge what might make someone anxious or how someone acts when anxious as this only leads to stigma associated with anxiety and mental health issues in general.
In the modern-day world, there are thousands of things that could make people afraid and lead to anxiety. A first date can make someone anxious if they are worried about rejection or judgement. Or moving to a new house could consume someone with anxious thoughts like “Will everything go according to plan?”, “Will I like my neighbours?”, “What if I can’t afford this new mortgage?”. Virtually, anything can make someone anxious if they think it is a threat or that they won’t be able to tolerate or overcome it.
Nevertheless, anxiety can be helpful in telling us that there is something we need to approach with caution and think more carefully about. It allows us to focus our attention and act in a way that will keep us the safest. Anxiety can be adaptive.
Do I Have An Anxiety Disorder?
You might be thinking that anxiety is never a good thing and that it is a problem that needs to be dealt with. Well, sure, no one likes experiencing anxiety, but if it comes and goes with whatever is stressing you out and is relatively mild, then it is probably not a cause for concern.
However, many people suffer from anxiety disorders. In fact, it is estimated that over 30% of people in the US experience an anxiety disorder in their lifetime. Whether or not you have an anxiety disorder depends on a few key questions:
Is the anxiety out of proportion to the stressor/threat?
Does the anxiety persist even after the stressor/threat is gone?
Does the anxiety interfere with your life?
If the answer is yes to any of those questions, consider speaking to your doctor about your anxiety levels as these are signs that your anxiety is problematic. Psychotherapy approaches for anxiety, such as CBT or mindfulness, is another great option to get your anxiety under control. To learn more about recognizing the signs and symptoms of anxiety and what you can do about it, read this article here.
5 Easy Tips To Deal With Anxiety
The basics of coping with anxiety involves targeting our 4 main pillars of health ‒ diet, exercise, sleep, and stress management. We need to make sure that these areas in our life our well taken care of in order to ensure a healthy body and mind, that will ultimately give ourselves the best chance at living an anxious-free life.
Limit Caffeine: We get it ‒ You’re busy, overworked, and just trying to stay afloat in life…and your favourite drink from Starbucks is sure to give you that mid-afternoon pick-me-up you desperately need. However, for those who suffer from anxiety, drinking too much caffeine can make your anxiety worse. Caffeine is a stimulant which will add to the many symptoms of anxiety you may already be experiencing, like a racing heartbeat, excessive sweeting, rapid breathing, agitation, and restlessness.
Eat a Balanced Diet: Some foods are shown to make anxiety worse, like processed and sugary food, pop, coffee, alcohol, and refined carbs. We aren’t suggesting to avoid these foods altogether (because we need to treat ourselves!), but do limit their intake and try to incorporate other foods that have been shown to help anxiety such as omega-3 rich foods (e.g., fish, nuts/seeds), leafy greens that are rich in magnesium, and foods high in anti-oxidants like berries, broccoli, walnuts, kidney beans, and turmeric. Also, make sure you are eating enough throughout the day to fuel your body and prevent symptoms like headaches, fatigue, irritability, and brain fog, that will make your anxiety levels worse.
Get Enough Sleep: There is a 2-way relationship between sleep and anxiety; many who suffer from anxiety have difficulty sleeping, and getting good quality sleep can help alleviate anxiety. This is a tricky cycle to target, but practicing good sleep hygiene such as keeping to a sleep schedule, limiting naps, creating a relaxing environment, avoiding alcohol or caffeine too close to bedtime, and journalling before bed to “brain dump” all of your worries can definitely help.
Exercise: I can almost guarantee that you’ve been encouraged to exercise before if you struggle with anxiety, and it's for a good reason. There are a number of benefits of exercise to mental health, including reduced anxiety, depression, stress, and increased feelings of confidence, energy, and mental clarity as well as better sleep. When it comes to anxiety, 30 minutes of daily activity can reduce stress hormones and help calm our body, thereby getting us out of that hyperactivated physiological state. You don’t have to hit the gym every day either; any form of movement such as yoga, walking, dancing, or biking is sufficient to achieve the benefits of exercise.
Set Boundaries: Anxiety is often present in people who struggle to set good work-life boundaries or boundaries with others and their time. Make sure you are giving yourself enough time each day to rest and recharge, so that you aren’t being stretched too thin and becoming overwhelmed and weighed down by unrealistic expectations and responsibilities. This may require you to reprioritize your to-do list and start saying “no” to things that are just too much. Here is an article to help you learn more about setting boundaries for stress management.
The Bottom Line
Anxiety isn’t necessarily a bad thing ‒ we need to survive so that we can be on alert for and respond to dangers in our environment, but for those who struggle with chronic anxiety or an anxiety disorder, it needs to be better controlled so that it doesn’t interfere with our life. Coping with anxiety doesn’t have to be complex. There are several practical strategies you can do to ease your anxiety that target our basic health factors. In addition to these tips, speaking to a therapist or considering medication may be helpful in treating anxiety.
Laryssa Levesque, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Laryssa is a Registered Psychotherapist and entrepreneur. She is the owner and clinical director of a virtual mental health practice, Inner Growth Counselling & Psychotherapy, that provides comfortable, down-to-earth, and genuine therapy services to children, teens, adults, couples, and families. Her mission is to modernize therapy by making it accessible and convenient for people to seek help, and to destigmatize mental health issues. She believes that everyone would benefit from therapy to help them rediscover their authentic self, find balance and control in life, and live more meaningfully, free of the burden of mental health issues.
