Anxiety disorders are the most commonly seen category of disorders and their presence causes significant life changes. These disorders are characterised by excessive worry, fear, and apprehension. Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Social Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, and Phobias are some common types of anxiety disorders. People with anxiety disorders may experience physical symptoms such as rapid heartbeat, sweating, trembling, and shortness of breath. These conditions can significantly impact daily life and overall well-being if left untreated.
What could be the reason for Anxiety?
There are many reasons for the disorder to be prevalent in an individual life. The biological factors being the primary reason, the metabolic or autonomic abnormalities due to the illness generate syndrome of anxiety like hypothyroidism. The neurotransmitters also play an important role; serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine are seen to impact normal and pathological anxiety. The deficiency in vitamins like D3 & B12 also add to the reasons.
The psychological factors for anxiety includes unconscious conflict between ego and id impulses, use of defence mechanisms like repression and displacement, uncontrollable and unpredictable aversive events, less tolerance for uncertainty, and many others.
Anxiety- feeling and disorder!
But, can we try to differentiate between the disorder and the feeling or state? Anxiety is a complex state of emotions like tension, worry, fear, uneasiness experienced due to the overwhelming situation which is perceived as a threat or danger. If this state gets severe, it poses the potential to become a disorder. This means that anxiety, if addressed sooner when experienced, can be effectively reduced.
Now, I ended my last sentence with ‘reduced’. Anxiety or any emotion can not be managed or controlled, because being born as a human, we are going to experience all our emotions. But as discussed earlier, if the state is addressed before it gets severe, we can live an emotionally healthy life. For that, we can help ourselves to learn and practise the art of emotional regulation. One will need the anxious feeling before giving its best in the performance as a motivator; but if the state makes the person overwhelmed and is disabling to give the performance, then one has to regulate the anxiety to function healthily and adaptively.
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Today, we still can see stigma around consulting a mental health professional. This keeps the disturbing emotions and thoughts undressed, which further adds burden to the treatment and the individual. So, an alternative can be to practise and include certain things or activities or exercises in one's life to help regulate the anxiety.
Understanding Anxiety
Let us understand the ABC Model of anxiety. The A stands for ‘alarm’, B stands for ‘beliefs’ and C stands for ‘coping strategies’. Alarms are emotional sensations and physiological reactions to the triggers. When triggered, the beliefs decide the action based on past experiences, conditioning, cultural background, or based on future anticipation. To regulate the anxiety, one uses coping strategies, which can be adaptive or maladaptive based on their effectiveness.
Strategies to regulate anxiety
Living with anxiety can be overwhelming, but there are strategies that can help you manage and reduce anxiety levels quickly and effectively. In this guide, we'll explore ways to alleviate anxiety, with a focus on techniques relevant to individuals in India. From deep breathing exercises to mindfulness practices, you'll discover actionable steps to calm your mind and body. Following are some of the self-help resources that can be practised to regulate anxiety.
1. Meditation and Mindfulness Practise
It focuses on calming down by paying attention to the breath, the sensations, thoughts, and feelings. It requires a beginners approach and a non-judgemental attitude towards self. While practising it is important to note that as humans, we are going to have thoughts and we can’t stop them, but we can be aware of them and bring back the focus on breath or the exercise.
2. Yoga
It helps the mind and body to sync with each other through breath, postres, movements, and trying to be in the present moment. There are many types of yoga which are beneficial to regulate anxiety- types of pranayama, hatha, iyengar, and sudarshan kriya. Yoga impacts one's mood and reduces the symptoms of anxiety.
3. Massage
It is a self-care activity done widely by most of the people around the globe. It includes giving strokes and has a rhythm to the movement, to the pressured touch.
4. Guided Imagery
It focuses on the interactions between the brain, mind, and body. The individual tries to imagine and visualise any object, thing, person, event, experience, some element in nature, and tries to get in sync with the feelings of calmness, comfort, and okayness. It can be facilitated by some professional or through recordings or even self-directed.
5. Laughter
It includes mimicry, breath work, and movements. The individual tries to focus on the experience of the laughter and the bodily sensations, helping the individual to enjoy the present moment and a temporary relief from anxious feeling. It can be done in groups, over weeks focusing on spontaneous humour and stimulated laughter.
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6. Exercise
It brings changes in one’s physiology and helps to improve the emotional state, regulating anxiety and stress. The mind-body connection gets stronger because of the various forms of exercises. The type of exercise, time and consistency decides the effectiveness. The aerobic exercises have effectively shown healthy results on an individual's emotional and psychological well-being, and helps to improve attention. But the movements need to be appropriate to avoid bodily damage and increase in anxiety.
7. Nutrition
From a few research and studies, we get evidence that show the influence of a certain dietary plan on lowering anxiety. The diet can have healthy food items, traditional diet, anti-inflammatory diet, more seasonal fruits and veggies, limited sugar, and minimal processed food.
8. Seek Support
It’s better to share your feelings and thoughts with someone you trust, feel comfortable talking to. Suffering is an inevitable part of human’s life, and no one can escape that. It is important to remember that everyone is sailing through the storm, and we can get help from the others sailing too, and if not help, maybe just their presence can help us feel safe.
Conclusion
Living with anxiety can be challenging, but with the right strategies and support, you can manage and reduce anxiety levels effectively. By practising deep breathing, mindfulness meditation, and seeking professional help when needed, you can regulate your anxiety and improve your overall well-being.
Online therapy offers convenience and accessibility, making it easier for individuals in India to access mental health support. Rocket Health India offers comprehensive mental health support, including online therapy services. Take the first step towards anxiety relief today. If you're struggling with anxiety, reach out to Rocket Health India for professional support and guidance.
References
Aucoin M, LaChance L, Naidoo U, Remy D, Shekdar T, Sayar N, Cardozo V, Rawana T, Chan I, Cooley K. Diet and Anxiety: A Scoping Review. Nutrients. 2021 Dec 10;13(12):4418. doi: 10.3390/nu13124418. PMID: 34959972; PMCID: PMC8706568. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8706568/
Bystritsky A, Khalsa SS, Cameron ME, Schiffman J. Current diagnosis and treatment of anxiety disorders. P T. 2013 Jan;38(1):30-57. PMID: 23599668; PMCID: PMC3628173. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3628173/
Butcher J N, Hooley J M, Mineka S, Dwivedi C B. (2017). Abnormal Psychology sixteenth edition. Pearson.
Lin Y and Gao W (2023). The effects of physical exercise on anxiety symptoms of college students: A meta analysis. Front. Psychol. 14:1136900. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1136900 https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1136900/full
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