Rose Bricker, DBH
Anxiety can be challenging. The symptoms can be wide-reaching and varied. Anxiety doesn’t have to be diagnosed as a disorder to create huge discomfort in our lives. Anxiety affects your whole being. It is a physiological, behavioral, and psychological reaction all at once. Some symptoms of anxiety/panic are:
Rapid heartbeat
Sweating
Nausea
Feeling like you cannot breathe
Headache/stomachache
Dry mouth
Restlessness
Being easily fatigued
Difficulty concentrating
Irritability
Muscle tension
Difficulties with sleep
The focus of anxiety is more internal than external. It is often described as a state of apprehension and uneasiness. It appears in different forms and different levels of intensity. It can range in severity from mere twinges of uneasiness to a full-blown panic attack, which may include heart palpitations, disorientation, and terror. Anxiety that is not connected with any particular situation and “comes out of the blue” is often called free-floating anxiety or, in more severe instances, a spontaneous panic attack.
Our sympathetic nervous system is activated by fear and anxiety. We can find ourselves stuck in the “survival mode” of fight, flight, and freeze. That hyperaroused state can increase our symptoms and frequency of anxiety. We often use unhealthy coping strategies, such as using drugs (such as marijuana), drinking, smoking, overeating, avoidance, anger, oversleeping, and other compulsive behaviors to manage anxiety.
Are you experiencing anxiety? Increased prices, health concerns for ourselves and loved ones, violence in the news, loneliness, loss of friends, and limited social connections are common sources of anxiety.
How can you lower the anxiety? By learning healthy coping skills such as cognitive and nutritional interventions, mindfulness techniques, and self-care techniques, you can reduce your levels of anxiety, achieve a sense of calmness, gain mood stability, and have improved physical health.
If you would like more information on mental health or behavioral health issues, please call me at 520-815-6901 for a 30-minute complimentary meet-and-greet appointment. My website is bluelemonhealthandwellness.com, and I’m located at Blue Lemon Therapy and Coaching, LLC, 10132 N. Oracle Road, Suite 160, Oro Valley, AZ 85704 (in the business park behind the Fairfield Inn in Oro Valley).