Anxiety and methods for identifying it. Preventing Anxiety

Greetings, friends!

It is common for all people to experience anxiety from time to time. This is a completely normal phenomenon if experiences do not prevent a person from maintaining the usual rhythm of life and making adequate decisions. But for some people, anxiety levels are so high that they become depressed, interfere with their ability to work effectively, and even affect their physical health.

Such stress is extremely dangerous and should be avoided at all costs. Today we will talk about how to get rid of anxiety if this condition is prolonged and has a strong impact on the quality of life. Using the tips discussed above, you can overcome your own anxiety or help a loved one cope with depressing experiences.

What is anxiety?

In psychology, anxiety is a person’s tendency to experience strong feelings without good reason. Sigmund Freud defined anxiety as “a strong negative experience arising from uncertainty and a sense of helplessness.”

It is important to distinguish between concepts such as “anxiety” and “anxiety”. Anxiety is a temporary emotion, strong excitement associated with a specific situation. Anxiety is the tendency to worry about the slightest thing. The first condition is familiar to every normal person, but the second is an individual personality trait that can significantly worsen the quality of life.

Anxiety is a fairly well-studied phenomenon that can be corrected. In case of severe anxiety disorder, it is better to immediately make an appointment with a psychotherapist. If you just want to ease your worries over little things, then you can easily cope with anxiety on your own using the tips from this article. But first, let's figure out how to understand that a problem is present and requires a solution.

General information and types

Human anxiety is a psychological personality trait that is found in the tendency of an individual subject to constantly experience severe anxiety, even for minor reasons. It can also be considered as a feature of a person’s temperament. Anxiety is described by a feeling of discomfort and the expectation of a certain threat. This disorder is most often classified as a neurotic disorder.

There are different types of anxiety.

1. Uncontrolled, but conscious. There is a disorganization of human life.
2. Controlled, which is realized and compensated. Is an incentive. But, as a rule, activity is observed exclusively in familiar situations.
3. Hidden and unconscious. Ignored by a specific person, it manifests itself in a monotonous action.
4. Cultivated, yet conscious anxiety. Manipulation often occurs. A person seeks profit in everything.
5. Compensatory, which is protective, unconscious. A person tries to convince himself that everything is fine with him, that he does not need help.
6. Avoiding disturbing situations. When anxiety is absolute, a person, with the help of such withdrawal, tries to immerse himself in some kind of addiction or virtual network, and escapes from reality.

A person who is constantly in a state of anxiety makes things worse for himself. He suffers psychologically, and his physical health is harmed. Such a person often has tachycardia, pressure surges may appear, and a feeling of lack of air may occur. Due to strong emotional shocks, excessive fatigue sets in, and a person does not have the strength to live normally. In the presence of constant anxiety, the entire body suffers, interruptions in the functioning of various organs appear, and women often experience hormonal imbalances.

An anxious state can destroy a person’s nervous system, while the presence of fear allows one to mobilize the body’s internal forces. For example, if a person is attacked by a dog while walking down the street, he will resort to certain actions to protect himself. In the case when an individual is worried that a dog might attack him while walking down the street, he programs himself in advance for a bad outcome of the situation and begins to get nervous when nothing has happened yet.

How to recognize anxiety: 5 main signs

The presence of this problem is not always obvious both to the person himself and to his loved ones. But there are 5 main signs of anxiety that you can identify yourself:

• too painful perception of one's own failures;
• decreased performance under stress;
• the tendency to see potential danger in everything;
• fear of failure is a factor that reduces performance;
• success motivates, but mistakes and failures sharply reduce motivation.

If you have at least 3 points out of the 5 listed, you should learn how to get rid of anxiety. This will allow you to enjoy life more and work more efficiently, without being distracted by unimportant and unimportant details.

Causes of anxiety

To better understand how to get rid of anxiety, it is important to understand its causes. This disorder is characteristic mainly of adults, but the first prerequisites arise in childhood. Factors that lead to the development of anxiety include:

• High expectations
  . Parents require their child to study diligently and have good grades, but he or she does not always manage to meet these requirements. Growing up, a person no longer lives up to his own expectations, and each failure makes him more and more anxious.
• Conflicting positions of adults
  . Parents and relatives, school teachers and other mentors instill in the child certain values, many of which contradict each other. This causes the child (and later the adult) to doubt and worry when making important decisions.
• Forced compromises with conscience
  . Every person sometimes has to make compromises, leading to mental anguish and pangs of conscience. This is especially painful in childhood. For example, if a teacher forced a student to “snitch” on a classmate, this is a painful situation for him, and he himself believes that he did wrong.
• Mismatch between needs and capabilities
  . When a person cannot receive all the necessary benefits, he has to choose. Such a choice can be quite painful, and prolonged doubts lead to the development of anxiety.
• Instability of social and financial situation
  . If a person constantly doubts for a long time whether he will keep his job, whether he will be able to pay off a loan and cope with other financial obligations, this will almost certainly lead to the development of anxiety.

Answers on questions

Of course, no one voluntarily chooses to be afraid, worry, or refuse the unknown and exciting all the time. We don't like the constant feeling of anxiety. We all want to enjoy life. Therefore, the desire to find ways to combat anxiety is natural. And in the course of these searches, questions inevitably arise. Let's answer the most common ones.

How to cope with anxiety? Is this even possible?

Of course, excessive anxiety is amenable to psychocorrection. And although the symptoms may be common, the reasons for anxiety are different for everyone. Someone really wants to draw, but cannot start, someone is afraid to fly, and someone’s hands tremble every time they need to say “stop at the next one.” In all cases, we will talk about increased anxiety, but the habitual behavior and automatic thoughts of these people will be different.

Therefore, the first step in treating increased anxiety in adults is to realize what increases your anxiety, what situation is painful for you.

What is an anxiety scale? I often see mention of her

The Spielberger-Hanin test is usually used as an anxiety scale. You get points for answering questions, and the more points, the more anxious you are.

You can also use our abbreviated version of this scale to determine whether this is an issue for you to pay attention to. This is a simple, but quite objective test.

Note! One test cannot serve as an accurate tool for diagnosing anxiety levels. In order to draw certain conclusions, it is useful to undergo several tests and get an interpretation of the results from a specialist. A professional psychologist will take into account not only your answers, but also the context of the situation - the characteristics of your character, lifestyle, and so on.

3. Is treatment for anxiety different in adults and children?

Yes, working with children has its own specifics. The most obvious difference is that children are not always able to assess their emotional state and give clear answers to test questions. Therefore, when diagnosing anxiety in children, up to primary school age, other testing methods are used: drawing tests, associative tests, and so on. It is also better for the child to work with a child psychologist who will take into account age and developmental characteristics.

How does individual anxiety correction work? On your own or with a psychologist?

Ideally, diagnosis and correction of anxiety, and especially anxiety disorders, should take place under the guidance and supervision of a specialist (psychotherapist or psychologist). But not everyone can find the strength to visit a specialist. The very fact of the upcoming visit and the need for personal communication can cause increased anxiety; in-person treatment in this case can be postponed for a long time.

What will I say? What will they think of me that I brought myself to this state? What if my situation is actually nonsense? What if the psychologist judges me?

These are just a few of the thoughts that accompany a person planning a trip to a psychologist or psychotherapist.

Of course, there are situations when it is necessary to be treated by a specialist who can prescribe medication. But often, to reduce the level of anxiety, a person’s own efforts and behavioral therapy, for example, the 7Spsy method, which includes a special technique for diagnosing anxiety, are sufficient.

• You will be able to undergo a whole series of tests that will reveal what is bothering you, and our psychologists will create an individual anxiety correction program taking into account your personal characteristics. Experts will help you identify maladaptive behavior patterns and replace them with healthy, adaptive patterns.
• Correction will also be carried out with the support of a psychologist, but you will choose the form, time and duration of communication.
• Learning new strategies will take 2-6 weeks, which is much less than when working independently or working with a psychologist for 1 hour once a week.

If you decide to deal with constant anxiety on your own, then this work can also be effective, but it will require more effort and discipline.

The 7Spsy behavior modification course will save you from a long search for the necessary information, trial and error - this is a ready-made solution that will help you get rid of constant anxiety and enjoy life again.

What will help me? Recommend some psychological techniques to reduce anxiety

There are several simple remedies to reduce anxiety, but which one will work for you is difficult to predict.

Methods for correcting anxiety:

1. Find the strength to face the cause of your anxiety. We are most often afraid of the unknown. Nature provides that when we constantly encounter any irritant, we get used to it and cease to be afraid. For example, if you are afraid to ask for directions, ask for directions as often as possible. Once you encounter a situation that you have been avoiding several times, you will see that it poses no real danger.

1. Don't worry about your anxiety. People often worry not only about actual situations, but also about how others might notice their condition.

Oh, now everyone will see that my hands are shaking, and what will they even think? How much I sweat, what a shame!

Research shows that people who perceive their physiological symptoms (increased heart rate, trembling, sweating) as a reaction to external sources - for example, loud noise - are less anxious and behave more relaxed, although tremors and sweating persist.

1. Remember, the presence of worries and anxiety does not mean that something urgently needs to be done about it. Yes, my hands are shaking, let it be, this is physiology and a natural process, my body is preparing to run - the body is great, but I won’t do anything about it, then it will pass.

1. Try to see if you have selective perception. Often an anxious person notices only those facts that confirm his fears, [3] while ignoring what goes against his beliefs. For example, a person who is afraid of flying will only notice and focus on rare reports of plane crashes, while general flight statistics (tens of thousands daily) will be ignored.

1. Listen to music. Of course, it won’t help in a state of passion, but it’s a pretty good way to cope with situational anxiety, for example, before an exam or surgery. You can choose the music to your taste, but it’s good if it resembles calm breathing and heartbeat. The brain will be able to adjust to this rhythm and reduce anxiety levels.

1. Imagine yourself being calm in a situation that makes you anxious. Literally sit down and imagine yourself saying something and nothing bad happens. Submit your resume and feel at ease. Learn to drive a car and cope with the situation. Such rehearsals can make your life much easier and develop a calm attitude towards sources of anxiety.

1. Write down what happens to you. [3] When anxiety arises, simply grab a pen and paper (or sit on your computer) and write. Don’t pay attention to mistakes, just write about what worries you, what you feel at this moment, what consequences you are afraid of.

I'm worried that... I'm angry with myself because... If I don't do it, then... If I'm afraid that if I try, then...

Our unconscious reactions and thoughts may bother us, but with a detailed analysis of the situation, there is a chance to understand that there is no real danger. Also, this technique for dealing with excessive anxiety will help to identify habitual behavior that interferes with us. For example, we will see that we always become anxious when our boss calls us. Having discovered such a habit, it will be easier for us to change it.

As you can see, increased anxiety is quite manageable. You can choose any way to fight it, but be sure to believe that you will succeed. And don't forget to check your anxiety with our checklist.

How to get rid of anxiety: 10 ways

1. Find the cause of your concern
   . An anxious person usually replays the worst possible scenario in his head. Evaluate the realism of this scenario and think about whether it is really that terrible. Consider the consequences and convince yourself that you can handle even the worst case scenario.
2. Do a thorough cleaning
   . To get your head in order, you need to have your home and work place in order. If the surrounding space is cluttered, the feeling of anxiety will only intensify. But an atmosphere of order, on the contrary, helps to think rationally.
3. Learn to take advantage of it
   . Take anxiety attacks as an incentive to solve the problem. You can also perceive anxiety as a hint. You can even personalize it by pretending it's an imaginary friend trying to help you. As soon as anxiety sets in, ask it mentally what it wants to warn you about. This unusual approach will help you perceive anxiety more positively and bring you closer to getting rid of it.
4. Take a walk
   . Go outside and walk, trying not to think about the problem. Carefully study the trees, inhale the smells, listen to birdsong and other sounds, watch cats and dogs. The effectiveness of a walk is comparable to good meditation. It helps to put your thoughts in order and take a fresh look at the problem.
5. Take a break from gadgets
   . The Internet era has made us dependent on computers and smartphones. We follow the news feed that interests us, check mail and social networks, “monitor” thematic chats and forums, and monitor all kinds of notifications. Try to isolate yourself from devices that constantly require attention. On a working day, a half-hour break is enough. On the weekend, you can turn off your computer, tablet and smartphone for the whole day to relax, take a walk or engage in a hobby. This will help you not only spend your weekend profitably, but also get closer to getting rid of anxiety.
6. Learn to concentrate
   . Concentrating on an important task is a form of meditation that allows you to completely disconnect from your experiences. Learn to concentrate on one thing for at least 5-10 minutes. Ideal for cleaning, washing dishes, playing sports, taking care of nails or other simple activities. Keep in mind that you cannot be distracted by anything at all for 5-10 minutes. It will be difficult at first, but each time it will become easier to enter a state of concentration. This technique helps to distract yourself by throwing unnecessary thoughts out of your head.
7. Get together with friends
   . If you don’t know how to get rid of anxiety, call your friends and offer to meet. Communication with loved ones always provokes the release of oxytocin, a hormone that creates a feeling of mental comfort. And it doesn’t matter in what format the meeting will take place. You can sit in a cozy home environment, barbecue in the forest or take a walk in the park - the desired effect is present in any case.
8. Get enough sleep
   . Regular lack of sleep has a detrimental effect on both physical condition and mental health. Try to sleep at least 7 hours every day, and within a few days you will notice a significant reduction in anxiety. Read this article about how to start getting enough sleep.
9. Meditate
   . Meditation is a powerful tool against stress. If it seems complicated and incomprehensible to you, try the simplest technique that is accessible even to beginners. Close your eyes, exhale completely and begin to slowly inhale air through your nose, counting to 10 and concentrating as much as possible on the sensations of inhalation. Having taken several such breaths, you will feel the effect after 1 minute of doing this exercise (you can exhale through your mouth).
10. Think through everything down to the smallest detail
    . Anxiety usually involves a person doubting that he has prepared for everything. Therefore, the best way to avoid anxiety is to make sure everything is covered. Make a plan for the event that worries you, think about what knowledge and skills may be needed. Add up all the things you will need and double check them. Think through every step, and there will be nothing to worry about.