Anxiety

Anxiety is the most common mental health condition in Australia. Up to one-third of women and one-fifth of men will experience anxiety at some point in their lives.

It’s normal to feel anxious in high pressure situations such as a job interview, when you’re speaking in public, or when you’re experiencing change in your life or work environment and you’re uncertain what the future will hold. Anxiety in the short-term has an evolutionary role and helps us to stay focused and alert when faced with danger or uncertainty, helping to maintain our survival.

However, prolonged, chronic anxiety to perceived rather than actual threat can cause distress and long-term physiological damage due to the increase of cortisol and adrenaline, increasing your heart rate, and elevating your blood pressure, amongst a myriad of other detrimental affects.

Cortisol also curbs functions that would be nonessential or detrimental in a fight-or-flight situation. It alters immune system responses and suppresses the digestive system, the reproductive system and growth processes. This complex natural alarm system also communicates with the brain regions that control mood, motivation and fear.

Anxiety can interfere with how we go about our everyday lives making it hard to cope

with ‘normal’ challenges. Anxiety becomes a problem when you start to feel anxious most of the time and about even minor things, to the point where your worry is out

of control and interfering with your day to day life.

The long-term activation of the stress-response system and the overexposure to cortisol and other stress hormones that follows can disrupt almost all your body's processes. This puts you at increased risk of many health problems, including:

• Anxiety

• Depression

• Digestive problems

• Headaches

• Heart disease

• Sleep problems

• Weight gain

• Memory and concentration impairment

Your reaction to a potentially stressful event is different from anyone else's. How you react to your life stressors is affected by such factors as:

Genetics. The genes that control the stress response keep most people on a fairly steady emotional level, only occasionally priming the body for fight or flight. Overactive or under active stress responses may stem from slight differences in these genes.

Life experiences. Strong stress reactions sometimes can be traced to traumatic events. People who were neglected or abused as children tend to be particularly vulnerable to stress. The same is true of people who have experienced violent crime, aeroplane crash survivors, military personnel, police officers and firefighters.

You may have some friends who seem relaxed about almost everything and others who react strongly to the slightest stress. Most people react to life stressors somewhere between those extremes.

Stress management strategies include:

• Eating a healthy diet and getting regular exercise and plenty of sleep

• Practising relaxation techniques such as trying yoga, practising deep breathing,

• Getting a massage or learning to meditate

• Taking time for hobbies, such as reading a book or listening to music

• Fostering healthy friendships

• Having a sense of humour

• Volunteering in your community

• Seeking professional counselling when needed

The reward for learning to manage stress is peace of mind and perhaps a longer, healthier life.

If you think that stress and anxiety are out of your control and negatively affecting the enjoyment of your day to day, contact me and let's chat about solutions to effectively curb anxiety in your life.

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