What is Anxiety?
What is Anxiety?
What is Anxiety?
It seems counterproductive to research the one thing you want to avoid like the plague. But let me tell you, once I really understood what anxiety was, I felt so much more empowered and less attached to it which then created more ease in being able to manage it.
Here are the big pieces in an easy way to understand.
First, WHAT IT’S NOT.
It’s not “just over-worrying”.
WHAT IT IS
A neurological response to stimuli.
HOW IT WORKS
Stimuli comes in through one of your five senses.
Your amygdala rakes through all of the stimuli, one at a time.
The amygdala then determines if it’s a stimuli that could cause harm or danger to you, often based on past experiences.
If the amygdala determines there could be some danger, it’ll tell the hypothalamus to batten down the hatches and turn on the fight or flight so you’re prepared to save yourself.
WE ARE OVERSTIMULATED
But guess what. We are OVERSTIMULATED! Our brain is working overtime to try and protect us and it’s resulting in a chronic state of fight or flight. Begin to take in awareness through just recognizing how your body feels in certain situations. This will be a big clue to begin to be able to support yourself.
This can get tricky, say you saw a car accident that happened in front of a McDonalds. The scene of that accident or even just the sight of McDonalds can cause an anxiety response
Your kid almost choked at that restaurant. Now, every time you go there or your kid eats that food, you have an anxiety response.
You see a thermometer coming at your head after the year 2021… anxiety response.
You had someone call you and confront you screaming and yelling. Now all you do is screen your calls.
HELP YOUR BRAIN
We need to constantly support our bodies by removing the stress hormones and helping our brain realize what’s safe and what isn’t. If we don’t take this co-pilot seat, our brain will become overzealous and begin to think too many things are dangerous. Here are some ways to help move the stress out.
REMIND YOURSELF YOU’RE NOT CRAZY
You are not crazy.
You are not an over-worrier
You are not overreacting
There is nothing wrong with you.
Your brain is doing its JOB.
NOT ALL ANXIETY IS CREATED EQUAL
Not everyone is going to respond the same way to the same stimuli. We all have our own experiences and our own traumas. We canNOT compare our anxiety to others.
Always remember that your anxiety is a journey. It’s a clue from your body. Your body is SO smart and intuitive. Here your anxiety. Give it space to communicate. Understand it’s not YOU. YOU are not your anxiety. It’s a part of you. It’s a response.
Supporting women in their anxiety journeys through LGA has been so remarkable. I only have 2 spots available each month. Check out details and application info here.