Anxiety: Is there a choice?

Anyone experiencing anxiety would probably say absolutely not, however being over anxious can be a choice.

Ok, so the fact is some anxiety is a necessary part of living, in fact, it can be useful and even healthy for our bodies to feel some low level anxiety at times. For example it can motivate us to do something, it gives you drive and ambition, which is necessary to move forward.

Anxiety and the associated physical symptoms were experienced by our early ancestors and served a practical purpose in actually keeping them safe whilst out hunting. It is known as the fight or flight response and the physical changes in their bodies gave them the ability to fight a predator or to run away. So, the faster beating heart means blood is being pumped to the extremities like their legs to assist them in running and their arms to enable them to fight. Fluttering stomachs and feeling sick meant that the ancients would have emptied their full stomachs to make them lighter to run faster. The production of adrenaline gave them more energy, again to fight or run.

This response has stayed with us through evolution and is very helpful in dangerous situations, obviously, however a lot of people experience these extreme symptoms in everyday events.

Ok, so if the event is not dangerous or life threatening why are we having the same symptoms as if it was?

It’s down to our thoughts, thinking about the situation, playing it out in our mind always with the worse case scenario, that’s why!

Sound familiar, let’s face it we have all thought about a situation we have not wanted to be in and imagined all the worst things that could happen all so that we are prepared, am I right?

But just think about this for a moment, when you look forward to something lovely and exciting, what are the physical symptoms you experience? Faster heartbeat, stomach flutters, exactly the same as anxiety, but the thoughts are all positive, yes?

I’m also sure, that we have all experienced an occasion where we have been able to stop anxiety in it’s tracks, for example, hearing a noise and thinking the worst and then knowing the innocent reason behind it, suddenly all symptoms just stop, thoughts again!

It all sounds so simple doesn’t it, but I know anxiety is very real and can be debilitating at it’s worst? Therapy can really help, firstly, in learning techniques to manage the symptoms, as people suffering know the symptoms and the fear of experiencing them become part of the problem. Secondly, you will explore what your thought patterns are and perhaps where they have come from, and perhaps helping you to understand why, which can be such a turning point in therapy.

So, in life we can never irradicate anxiety but we completely but you can manage it by changing our thoughts to limit how it affects our lives so that we can experience more of the symptoms due to positive thoughts not the negative ones!