During my years in the mental health profession with additional training, I have worked with individuals using progressive relaxation, hypnosis, biofeedback and other treatments to effectively help them incorporate into their daily life managing their stress. So, I want to share some helpful suggestions to avoid the damage done by anxiety, and other stressful situations. You will be able to see benefits in those techniques to ease that stress.
Is there healthy and unhealthy stress?
First, there is a natural rhythm to a healthy heart; when in rest, you can feel the pulse and hear the heart beat rhythmically and strong. Yet there are situations that stimulate the heart to go beyond what is a restful state; it can go to an alert awareness, to the flight or fight syndrome. There is a reality that causes this heightened alertness to occur, such as danger, or extreme excitement of a newborn baby in the family. That excitement of the new baby is not distressful, it is stressful, but it is a positive form of stress.
What happens to our body when stressed?
It is important to know that most people can arouse anxiety even by their thoughts alone, which is an unhealthy type of experience. This type of stress can cause the heart to beat faster, your breathing to be more exaggerated, the pressure of the blood flowing through your body to increase, and your muscles to be more tense. Those events, over a period of time, can damage our body. It is the thought process, primarily that has been constructed by the individual themselves. So many professionals have engaged themselves to help others understand the pathology that has evolved.
Causes of anxiety
Most people can attend to three or four bits of information at a time. When that information comes into the conscious mind and then other bits of information comes in, the original information is pushed down to the subconscious. When the conscious and subconscious are both full of information, the subconscious information can be brought back to our conscious mind when needed. The subconscious has those thoughts that have evolved over the years and may be the monsters of anxiety. One of the main ways to deal with those inappropriate and inaccurate thoughts (called automatic negative cognitions by Dr. Aaron Beck, a renowned psychiatrist) is to bring it to the conscious level and have it out in the open. That’s the therapist’s perspective.
How to help your anxiety?
One way to address anxiety without a therapist is building new thoughts and new ways of addressing your anxiety. What happens is a physiological response to a negative subconscious thought; we can be aware of our awareness. The first thing that you can control is your breathing. What happens before anxiety occurs is your breathing changes. What I’m trying to help you understand is that you can actually identify anxiety before you get into a worry mode or a panic attack. Just be aware that your breathing has changed. Is there tightness in your chest? Can you feel that? Do you notice any change in your breathing? Then start controlling your breathing, because if you can control your breathing, you can control that “anxious feeling”.
Consequences of Anxiety
What are the long term effect of anxiety on our bodies? Chronic stress can cause the following:
- Sexual dysfunction and loss of desire in men and women
- Cardiovascular disease, including stroke, heart attack, high blood pressure and heart disease
- Mental health issues, such as depression and personality disorders
- Skin and hair problems, such as acne, psoriasis, eczema and permanent hair loss
- Gastrointestinal problems, such as GERD, gastritis, ulcerative colitis, and irritable colon.
- Obesity and other eating disorders.
Final Words
Breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, galvanic skin response – all of these neurophysiological functions in a relaxed state are low and steady. When danger occurs, all of these functions raise rapidly – the flight or fight syndrome. Individuals who have built up negative thoughts over the years, those are in the subconscious. We need to know that we can change our anxiety or stress levels simply by getting in touch with our body using feedback by being aware. You can control your breathing, blood pressure and heart rate just by being aware and in touch with your body. It takes a lot of practice, but I’ve learned to do this myself. When you learn to be aware and control those functions, you can function at a higher level and live a healthier life. Please contact me for any questions.
Warm Regards,
Dr. Mike
References:
https://www.webmd.com/balance/stress-management/stress-symptoms-effects_of-stress-on-the-body