How to Treat Anxiety - Are These Vague Feelings Symptoms of Anxiety?
How to Treat Anxiety - Are These Vague Feelings Symptoms of Anxiety
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If you feel your mind racing, your heart pounding, the blood swooshing past your ears, a sense of dizziness and a host of other anxiety symptoms, you have something to latch on to.
But what about those vague symptoms that you just cannot pinpoint? Those are the ones that leave you fearful and apprehensive, without "real" evidence that you are having an anxiety attack. You feel fine otherwise, except for this "odd" feeling. The usual symptoms don't come until later.
I know what that feels like because I've lived it, and I still do today. Back in the 1980s when I was having major anxiety and panic attacks, these sensations quickly took over my mind and my body.
Even though my anxiety disorder is gone, I do have minor anxiety attacks now and then. Fortunately, they no longer lead to major attacks as they always did back then.
Despite what I've learned about my anxiety, it still baffles me how to know what that feeling is, because it can mean something else entirely. It might not be anxiety at all, a thought which only enhances the feeling, bringing a full-blown attack that much closer.
The other day as I walked my dog in the forest, I had such an attack. It was indescribable, except to say that I "felt odd". My heart was not racing. I wasn't trembling or feeling dizzy. I had no other symptoms.
From experience, I know what to do first: check my thought patterns. What was I just thinking about? What came first, the worry about having something happen to me or the odd sensation? At that point, I couldn't tell. All I knew was that the attack was uncomfortable and probably was related to my thoughts.
Let's face it. There I was, a senior citizen, walking my dog in an isolated location where I would not be found for some time. Why wouldn't I have troubling thoughts? The location doesn't always matter. I've had those feelings while walking past houses where I know people, and along busy roadways. Plus, I do carry my cell phone, just in case.
Over the years, I've learned that I have to stop obsessing about that odd sensation... and fast!
Because I love this forest so much, I have something pleasant to focus on instead - the lush greenery around me, the fresh scent in the air, the birds chirping in the underbrush, ducks on the little pond, the sun filtering through the tall treetops. And, of course, my dog's excitement about being in this dog's wonderland.
It takes practice.
It takes a fair bit of practice to reach this stage with your anxiety. I can tell you that it is crucial that you make this determination right away. Next time you feel odd or fearful, stop thinking about it. I know it's not always easy, but it will get easier with practice.
Of course, you will do other things as well.
When you become fearful, you do not breathe properly. You take shallow breaths. This allows toxins to build up in your bloodstream. As you know, your blood feeds your muscles and your brain. When that oxygen is not "clean", your muscles and brain slow down.
- take some deep breaths. Inhale, count to 5, and exhale.
This sends oxygen to your tensed muscles so that they begin to relax. It also helps to clear your thinking, simply by providing your brain with fresh oxygen. That fresh air also relaxes your lungs and diaphragm. All of this helps you to relax more quickly so that you can break free of the anxiety.
- change your thoughts.
Thinking about something else will take your mind off how you are feeling. Make it something pleasant and positive, even if it means reliving a past satisfying event in your life. It might be when you received your diploma, when you got married, when your first child was born, when your child or baby laughs, when you got that adorable puppy.
You do not have to allow those odd feelings to take over your body and your mind. You have at your fingertips exactly what you need to break free.
Use these ideas and you will know in an instant how to treat anxiety before it even happens.
Relaxation therapy is one of the most effective methods that I use to treat my anxiety. Not only does it take my mind off the feelings. It is a pleasant experience. Here's what works for me in overcoming anxiety. Sylvia Dickens is an award-winning journalist who has struggled and overcome depression, panic and anxiety. Formerly with the Canadian Mental Health Association, she's written, "A Guide to Teenage Depression & Suicide" and "How To Build Confidence and Banish Anxiety Forever"
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