Understanding Anxiety Disorders
Tulongeni Kalimba- Aug 21, 2021
- 2 min read
Updated: Sep 2, 2021
Anxiety disorders are a cluster of mental mental disorders characterized by significant and uncontrollable feelings of anxiety and fear. Its entirely normal to experience anxiety. Work, school, relationships, finances and deadlines can offer stress enough to keep someone worried and render some sleepless nights.
Anxiety is defined as a feeling of unease, such as worry or fear that can be mild or severe. The APA describes a person with anxiety disorder as “having recurring intrusive thoughts or concerns.” Anxiety may cause physical and cognitive symptoms such as restlessness, irritable, easy fatigability, difficulty concentration, increase heart rate, chest pain, abdominal pain and many more.
There are several types of anxiety disorders, including generalized anxiety disorder, specific phobia disorder, agoraphobia, and panic disorder to name a few. The individual disorder can be diagnosed by the specific and unique symptoms, triggering events and timing. If a person is diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, a medical professional must evaluate the person to ensure the anxiety cannot be attributed to a medical illness or mental disorder.
Anxiety can impact an individual’s working memory problem solving, making it difficult to learn and retain information. Anxiety disengages neurons in which the prefrontal cortex, which affect planning, understanding rules and consequences regulating emotions and decision making. It cab also affect the ability to hold information in our minds for only a short periods and could forget all together. Negative effects can arouse socially, physically and emotionally, this also includes learning, performance and overall brain health. Anxiety often stops an individual from asking for the help they need because it makes them uncomfortable in a school, home or work environment.
Parents or guardians often miss anxiety symptoms or signs that a child or teen is anxious. Examples of the symptoms are; anger and hostility, excessive questioning, seeking validation, physical symptoms, avoidance, difficulty with sleep and trouble focusing. This may happen because parents contribute to their children’s anxiety without realizing it.
Even with anxiety being normal in a while, there are ways we can do to create an anxiety free day. Creating a morning routine such as exercise, meditation, stretch and enjoying a cup of coffee or tea in the stillness of the early hour or doing whatever gets you moving in a calm way can be a good start. Then identify a symbol that represents your anxiety free day. For example, how do you want me to be today? Strong? Maybe you’ll call your day “ant day” because ants are really, really strong. The next step is be intentional and proactive about your goal. Identify ways you do things during the day to meet your anxiety goal. How can you reduce anxiety so you can continue to act rather than avoid? Lastly, be mindfulness of your moments. Live each moment fully, and live with your daily anxiety goal in mind.
Nevertheless, you’re stronger than that emotion and you don’t have t to control your thoughts. You just have to stop letting them control you. And if you can’t do anything about it, don’t worry about it. Worry does not take away tomorrow’s troubles.
