By Alexander R. Tipton – MA. QMHP. LPC.
In our modern world we face many challenges that our ancestors never dreamed of. Through evolution and advancement, our species have eliminated many obstacles. Now in order to survive, we face a totally different world of challenges. Managing stress and anxiety is no easy feat. Anxiety, the number-one most reported mental health symptom, is a product of our modern area, and one that is here to stay.
Anxiety is fear.
Fear is one of five primary emotions that exists to serve a purpose. Fear’s purpose in nature is to protect us from what could kill, or seriously harm us.
Modern psychologists refer to this “Fight or Flight” reaction by many changing and expanding names. Susan Heitler Ph.D, theorized that the response is actually five differing reactions consisting of fight, flight, freeze, fold, and find. You can find more on her research at Prescription Without Pills.
At any rate, the reaction to fear creates not only a mental response, but a physical one. When in a state of fear, the human body reacts, sending chemicals through the blood stream. This calls the body to action and gives it strength to handle whatever threat or fear has triggered it.
This reaction, while very beneficial to our ancestors’ survival, creates many common problems in modern humans. Modern lifestyle and technology have made basic survival a distant thought. Instead, current (much more minor stressors in comparison), have become triggers for such a reaction.
Our ancestors experienced such stress reactions in order to fend off attackers, wild animals or to gain the strength to flee and escape. Its purpose: survival. The threat often ended quickly through escape, overpowering the threat, or death.
Modern stressors, however, are different. They tend to linger in the form of worry, instead of an immediate threat. When such worries are on our mind day after day, we can experience a similar effect to the fight or flight response when it feels unnecessary. This is the route that anxiety’s physical symptoms begin to impact the human body.
Anxiety and panic is quite simply the body’s misunderstanding in reaction to our worries.
The question is, how can we control and stop such a reaction? How can we manage our stress and anxiety in the modern world?
Stopping an Anxiety Attack
The best way to fight anxiety is to NOT fight. Anxiety is the drive to act, rush, and energetically act. The simplest way to eliminate physical feelings of anxiety is to become physically relaxed. One cannot be both physically anxious and physically relaxed at the same time.
Physical characteristics of anxiety (and panic) are often characterized by the body’s call to action. This includes increased and shallow breathing, racing heartbeat, increased chemical reactions/endorphins, and an increase in energy and jitteriness. To transform an anxious body into a relaxed one, one must change their own body chemistry.
To do this, think of what causes feelings of relaxation.
Next follow the flow chart of anxiety reduction:
| Stop |
| Sit or Lie Down |
| Focus on Breathing |
| Body Tension and Reduction |
| Visualization |
| Distraction |
Sit or lie down and close your eyes. Focus on breathing, making sure to breathe in and out slowly, thus slowing your heart rate.
Stop, sit or lie down, focus on breathing, body tension and reduction, visualization, distraction.
A Trick for Breathing
When engrossed in vigorous exercise or experiencing panic attack, your breathing is often characterized by quick and shallow inhales, followed by even faster exhales. For example: someone breathing as described may inhale for 2 seconds and exhale for 1 to 1.5 seconds.
Anxiety is the opposite of relaxed. Someone that is relaxed or sleeping breathes in much the opposite fashion; by breathing in deeply for 4 to 5 seconds and exhaling for 6-7 seconds.
When feeling panic or severe anxiety, it can help to sit or lie down and focus on breathing. In doing so, count 6 seconds inhaling and 8 seconds exhaling. By exhaling longer, your body is assured that no such rush or need to act exists. As a result, your body calms.
|
Inhale |
Exhale |
|
6 Seconds |
8 Seconds |
Depending on lung capacity, some people are capable of even longer breath cycles. It can become a fun goal to challenge yourself to lengthen breathing cycles. Inhaling for 10 seconds and exhaling for 12 seconds could be a goal. At any rate, the process not only helps regulate the breathing cycle to one of calm, but it also distracts the mind from the current panic or worry and refocuses it upon the breathing and counting.
Body Tension and Reduction
Tension and stress is often kept within your muscles. Another strategy to help manage stress and anxiety is to distract yourself through tension reduction.
To achieve tension reduction, sit or lie comfortably. Attempt to slow your breathing, then start from the base and work your way up. Tighten the foot muscles by clenching your toes to the point of discomfort. Hold this position for a few moments and then gradually release.
As you release, you should feel the tension let up. When this happens, visualize the stress leaving your body. Move up to the calves of your legs and repeat, moving up through each body muscle group, one by one. Work all the way to the shoulders, and finally the face and eyes. Hold flexed and tense muscles, only to slowly release them.
This strategy should take 5 to 10 minutes. While offering a significant distraction from anxiety provoking thoughts, it will also help ease any tension stored in your muscles.
Visualization
Another strategy to help manage severe anxiety, stress or panic is Visualization. It is often most effective when used in conjunction with breathing or body tension reduction. Visualization is an umbrella term. It can be applied to any imagining or thinking that creates an internal cognitive state of calm.
In counseling/therapy, a clinician often helps their patient create a “safe space,” or visualized setting that the patient can go to in their mind when facing panic or anxiety. While using one of the other strategies, picture a calming place or a repetitive, calming action taking place. It is common to picture anxiety leaving the body in color while breathing out or releasing muscle tension.
Visualization is best used when you focus on an image or experience that is simple, calming, repetitive, and well known. It can create a sense of calm that plays to the strengths of other strategies, allowing deeper relaxation.
Distraction
It is much harder to feel anxious if you are thinking about or doing something else. This is especially true if it commands your attention more strongly than the feelings of anxiety. A good distraction is anything that pulls attention away from anxiety, allowing calming thoughts to fill your subconscious.
The best strategy is to create a preset list of distractions if anxiety or panic sets in. Such a list is often called “coping skills” or “outlets.”
Take a few minutes to make a list of outlets and coping skills that you can use.
Eliminating Anxiety Through Planning
Elimination is simply the removing of an item of worry or stress. The simplest way one does this is to cross the item off the list or remove the obligation it presents. This however, is not always easy, as some stressors or items are time delayed, have barriers to completion, or are simply not under our control.
To Eliminate or Not
Many stressors shouldn’t be eliminated while others simply can’t be. If a stressor is something enjoyable, for instance worry about an upcoming vacation, few would want to eliminate such a fun prospect.
Fun does not always mean stress free, and many people experience stress, anxiety and worry about things they enjoy. Other examples include “beneficial stressors” such as applying to college, asking someone on a date, or a job interview. These all have the potential to lead to great experiences, yet may still cause stress or anxiety.
Other items can’t be eliminated because they are obligations. You can’t avoid paying bills, at least not without consequences. If you hope to keep your job, you have to show up to work. And you might have to pick up the in-laws from the airport once in a while.
These things may all cause stress, but cannot be eliminated either because their elimination would cause an even worse consequence, or it is not feasible to not get them done. These are obligations, but even they have a role in stress planning.
When faced with any stressful scenario or worry, you should ask yourself several questions. A worry is useless if it does little more than take space in your working memory (consciousness) and cause distress.
A worry is the result of stimuli that formulates our body to react. What makes this difficult is that it wants us to react instantaneously. Since most modern-day worries are prolonged, it leaves little use for the quick jerking reaction most anxiety provoking stimuli creates. Sorting and managing the worry is the answer.
The first task is to ask yourself, “Is this worry about something I will enjoy?”
If the answer is yes, then you should not eliminate it. However, you might ask, “How do I manage it then?” The answer is simple. To get such a stressor out of your working memory, you simply must schedule it. It’s as easy at that.
Many people feel that they must remember anything important. Thus, they believe they must keep worrying about them. This is one way many people have taught themselves to keep important thoughts or plans in their working memory.
This is a mistake.
Keeping such thoughts in your working memory creates anxiety and stress. The best strategy is to get it out of your working memory and organize it. If the stressor is to be enjoyed, then it should be planned or scheduled.
You might consider using a planner, scheduler, calendar, or even electronic devices or scratch paper. The idea is that you should somehow record the details of the idea/stress. For example: “Have drinks with Joey.” Figure out the where, the when, and write it all down. “Have drinks with Joey on Friday at 8 at Gustave’s.” Even if you are unsure about the details, you can still plan or schedule the idea. For example: “Have drinks with Joey, Call him Monday morning at 8 to schedule.”
This strategy takes the worry out of your working memory and plans/schedules it for a time that it can be done or managed.
One of the single biggest complaints from those suffering with anxiety is that they can’t sleep. This strategy is excellent for that purpose. When one tosses and turns at night, it is often because of a worry or worries.
Simply jot down the worry, plan it, or make a plan of when to plan it and go to sleep. Once the idea is jotted down, it no longer becomes a worry, but a plan of action. Taking action is what anxiety’s entire purpose is. Anxiety is pushing our bodies into action, so TAKE ACTION.
Medication
In many cases, a primary care doctor is the first stop when seeking medication. However, they do not specialize in psycho-active medication and may refer patients seeking medication to a specialist; most likely a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner or a psychiatrist.
When asking the question, “Should I consider medication for my stress/anxiety?” The most clinical approach is to consider your functioning. If you have difficulty doing a daily task like going to work, class, getting out of bed, or participating in regular social situation, then it is possible that medication may be a necessary and helpful step in recovery.
Anxiety is incredibly common. However, many do not have the functioning impacts severe enough to indicate a need for medication.
If a severe infringement on daily functioning exists, such an individual should seek additional professional support.
Additional Ideas to Consider
Some important concepts to remember…
Anxiety cannot hurt you. If you reflect on every instance you experienced anxiety, what was the end result every time?
Chances are it eventually went away on its own or through some other effort.
Anxiety is temporary.
It will eventually go away and can only exist to cause discomfort. It is that discomfort that sometimes makes people fearful of anxiety, thus triggering further reactions that can make anxiety and its symptoms feel more severe.
Managing stress and anxiety and its severity is entirely under your control. By remembering this, you empower yourself to use the tools and know-how to beat anxiety and continue to beat it.
For further strategies or to fully explore ways to reduce and manage your own anxiety and stress, check out the course on Udemy: Managing Stress and Anxiety and use the promo code NOWORRIES to get it at a reduced price.
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Alexander R. Tipton © 2018
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