A high level of anxiety can be associated with an objective situation, such anxiety is called situational. Such a reaction is completely normal and necessary for the mobilization of the body in a certain difficult life situation. But more often we have a place with a high level of anxiety, as a personality trait, such anxiety is called personal. People with a high level of anxiety find it much more difficult to live comfortably, because they cannot experience complete relaxation and are almost constantly in a state of emotional tension, like a compressed spring.
Let’s consider the mechanism of anxiety. In fact – this is the physiological state of the body, arising in response to danger. In other words, nature provides that when a danger arises, you must either run or fight (Reaction “Hit / Run”). To implement both actions, an adrenaline rush is required, which triggers the following processes: the heart rate increases so that the heart can pump more blood while running or fighting, blood fills the muscles (therefore, during anxiety, we can experience muscle spasms), capillary constriction occurs, to reduce blood loss in case of injury (hence the feeling of cold hands and feet, since blood circulation is impaired). The spasm of the capillaries disrupts the blood supply to the mucous membranes, which leads to a dry mouth (which is why it is so difficult to speak when worried). It is obvious that this mechanism, thought out by nature, is effective in the presence of a real object of danger.
Anxiety differs from fear in that there is no real object of danger. It is also called “objectless fear.” Anxiety has no real object, so it is difficult to deal with it rationally. It is the lack of understanding of what exactly “scares” scares even more and the circle is closed.
Regular and prolonged anxiety attacks, as you understand, change the hormonal background of the body and cause serious psychosomatic changes: circulatory disorders, vasospasm, muscle clamps “shell”, disruption of the digestive system due to impaired salivation and adrenaline release, which stimulates the intestines, etc. .d.
Now let’s consider what triggers this mechanism, because something launches it, even in the absence of a real object of danger. What is it?
It is she who creates in the brain some projections of the situation, which theoretically can have negative consequences, and the more negative attitudes we have, the more actions and circumstances we will broadcast through the prism of this negative “alien” experience. After all, most attitudes are “implanted from outside.” Someone significant (perhaps parents or someone else) once said “this is bad” or “this is dangerous” or “it is useless”, etc. and the installation was formed. And everything that happens around the person begins to unconsciously pass through the sieve of these installations. We may not even imagine how many of them are in our minds. A thought can be so impetuous, arise like a flash that we do not even have time to focus on it, it flew by, but the “sieve of installations” has already “hooked” it and gave a signal – DANGER! And the mechanism started. Why so often PA attacks occur in a dream, when a person wakes up in horror with palpitations and vasospasm, gasps for air and does not understand why he suddenly felt so bad (which, in turn, scares him even more!) Just in a dream that he is , quite likely does not remember, he had a thought that triggered this mechanism.
What if you recognize yourself in this description? You are a person with a high level of personal anxiety.
Psychotherapy. This state can and should be corrected and life will become much easier, more comfortable and will return its colors to you.
You can do the following yourself:
Start keeping a diary of anxiety attacks. As soon as you feel anxiety, anxiety, record under what circumstances it happened, what did you think about. You fix the thought. You are trying to formulate an attitude that could perceive this thought as a danger. Objectively consider whether this situation corresponds to a dangerous one and critically examine the attitude, most likely it is “false”, not true, as soon as you “catch” the same attitude several times in this way, you begin to clearly understand the causelessness of your anxiety.
To make the installations easier to see. You can write down on a sheet of paper in 2 columns your strengths and weaknesses with the wording I am such and such.
Practice your “weakness” attitudes. Think how objective they are. Who could tell you this. Are you sure that this is really your belief or all such it came to you from someone outside. What were the situations in life when you were really lucky, but they definitely were (if the installation – I’m unlucky); who are you ugly about, what canons of beauty, what exactly is wrong with you and is it really such a problem
3. Learn to think positively.
The brain is like a muscle, it also needs to be trained. An anxious person is constantly focused on problems. Moreover, the paradox of the situation lies in the fact that when the problem is real, it is easier for him, since he sees the object of fear, and takes action to eliminate it, he realizes that his state is justified. But when the real problem disappears, an active search for a new one begins, because, as I said, the objectlessness of anxiety in itself scares even more, it is scary that it is not visible what we are thinking, our fantasies are much more terrible than reality. And in order to relieve this tension, an anxious person is looking for a source, and everything is focused on finding a new source of fear, even when it is objectively not there. To start getting rid of negative thinking, you can do a seemingly simple exercise:
Before going to bed, we name 5 pleasant moments in a day. Moments that really made you happy, when you wanted to smile sincerely. For a person with a high level of anxiety, this exercise may seem difficult, because he will constantly struggle with internal resistance, his brain, by inertia, will try to think about the problems of the current and future day, and literally by an effort of will it will be necessary to return him to the search for the positive at first. For the most difficult cases, these positive moments can even be planned for the next day in order to learn to live with pleasure, learn to enjoy life again, relax and smile.