Anxiety is a normal part of the human experience.\u00a0 For example, a person may experience anxiety before giving a speech, taking a test, or walking down the aisle before getting married.\u00a0 For most people, these moments of anxiety fade quickly.\u00a0 Some people, however, experience anxiety that is so severe or long-lasting that it begins to affect their ability to function.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Fear and anxiety are similar in that they both activate the natural survival mechanisms of the body.\u00a0 When someone is in danger, their body reacts automatically to the threat.\u00a0 Their senses become heightened and their muscles constrict so that they can either fight against the danger or run away from it.\u00a0 This \u201cfight or flight\u201d reaction is a powerful coping mechanism that can help us survive \u201clife and death\u201d dangers.\u00a0 Unfortunately, this same \u201cfight or flight\u201d reaction can create problems when anxiety is involved.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n One way to describe <\/span>anxiety<\/span> is that it <\/span>is fear of something in the future based on something in the past. <\/span>\u00a0While fear helps us survive dangerous moments, anxiety is more about anticipating danger in the future.\u00a0 As a result, when someone is anxious they tend to feel fear in the moment while worrying about problems in the future.\u00a0 These worries often tend to result from past life experiences.\u00a0 Anxiety, therefore, tends to result in an escalating cycle of fear and worry.\u00a0 If left unbroken, this cycle of fear and worry can become overwhelming and disruptive to normal functioning.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The cause of this anxiety can come from a variety of sources.\u00a0 Some of the most common causes include:<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n When anxiety becomes severe or ongoing, it can create a number of problems for an individual.\u00a0 For example, severe anxiety has been associated with a variety of physical health issues, including heart disease, gastrointestinal issues, respiratory problems, and other chronic illnesses.\u00a0 In addition, anxiety can manifest in a number of mental health disorders.\u00a0 Some of the more common disorders are listed below:\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Some of the common symptoms of anxiety are:<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n A panic attack is an episode of extreme fear that can feel debilitating and life-threatening.\u00a0 When someone experiences a panic attack they often feel as though they are going to die.\u00a0 This feeling typically peaks within a few minutes but can last for much longer for some people.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Once someone has experienced a panic attack, they often become terrified of having another one.\u00a0 Ironically, this fear of having a panic attack often creates conditions that make another panic attack more likely.\u00a0 As a result, learning to manage anxiety, fear, and worries is an important step in decreasing the occurrence of panic attacks in the future.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n When a person becomes anxious their body revs up to deal with the feeling of fear while their mind begins to search for signs of danger.\u00a0 If a person was in real danger, this heightened state of alertness would serve them well as they dealt with the causes of the danger.\u00a0 However, because anxiety is focused on the future, not the present, the body has no place to discharge the energy.\u00a0 As a result, when a person becomes anxious, they begin to worry.\u00a0 As they worry, they become more anxious, which makes them worry more.\u00a0 This results in a self-feeding cycle of fear and worry, which I call the Anxiety Loop.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n To break the Anxiety Loop, you have to learn how to relax the body and stop the worries at the same time.\u00a0 While this may sound easy, it can be very difficult to do.\u00a0 When you are anxious, it feels like you \u201chave to worry\u201d because if you don\u2019t \u201csomething bad will happen.\u201d\u00a0 For example, a person who is afraid of flying may become hyper-vigilant before boarding a plane in order to spot signs of danger.\u00a0 Unfortunately, this hyper-vigilance often just leads to a panic attack instead of reassurance.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Remember that <\/span>anxiety is fear of something in the future, based on something in the past<\/span>.\u00a0 As a result, there is nothing that you can do about the issue you are worrying about, except worry more.\u00a0 However, instead of solving the problem, the worry just makes you feel more anxious.\u00a0 So the question becomes, how do you break the cycle of fear and worry when you feel compelled to keep worrying?\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Because anxiety is focused on the past and the future, a great first step to decreasing anxiety is to get back \u201cin the moment\u2019.\u00a0 The more you are in the <\/span>here and now,<\/span> the less anxious you will be.\u00a0 One strategy to get back in the moment is to engage the senses of sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell.\u00a0 When you are focused completely on what you are experiencing, it forces the mind to be more in the present.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n It is easier to break the Anxiety Loop if your mind and body are engaged in an activity.\u00a0 For example, it is hard to worry about your job while you are playing a strenuous game of tennis.\u00a0 The more the activity requires your full attention, the more it helps you break the cycle of anxiety and worry.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n If I tell you to stop thinking about money problems, you are actually more likely to think about money problems.\u00a0 Instead, when you are trying to stop the worries, focus on thinking about things that are not anxiety-provoking.\u00a0 For example, instead of worrying about something that is out of your control, focus your attention on things that you can control or engage in.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n If the thing you are worried about is not a \u201clife or death\u201d issue, then it is more likely to be a quality-of-life issue.\u00a0 Focus on making decisions that improve the quality of your life and you will feel less anxious as a result.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Deep breathing allows the body to get more oxygen which makes it easier for the body to relax.\u00a0 Taking 3 slow deep breaths from the diaphragm can be very helpful in getting both the mind and body to slow down.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n If you allow anxiety to build up, it becomes difficult to break the cycle of fear and worry.\u00a0 The earlier you stop the worries and the quicker you relax the body, the more control you tend to have over the feelings.\u00a0 Intervene early and intervene often in order to keep the Anxiety Loop from becoming a self-feeding cycle of fear and worry.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n MHThrive provides Individual Therapy, Couples and Marriage Counseling, and Family Therapy at our locations in Katy, The Woodlands, and the Clear Lake area of Houston, Texas. We also provide telehealth therapy for anyone who resides within the State of Texas. To schedule an appointment with one of the MHThrive therapists, contact us at\u00a0713-477-0333<\/a>\u00a0or visit\u00a0www.mhthrive.com<\/a>\u00a0to learn more.<\/p>\n If you or someone you know is experiencing any mental health or substance abuse issues,\u00a0New Dimensions<\/a>\u00a0can help. Our team of experienced therapists and psychiatrists can help you overcome these challenges and help you develop the skills you need to thrive. To schedule a complementary assessment or to find out more about our programs, contact us at\u00a01-800-685-9796<\/a>.<\/p>\n Online Treatment Programs<\/a>\u00a0provides Teletherapy Partial Hospitalization and Intensive Outpatient Programs allowing participants to receive intensive therapy with our licensed therapists and psychiatrists without having to leave home. \u00a0If you or someone you know is struggling to overcome depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, trauma, panic attacks, PTSD, alcoholism, drug abuse, or other mental health or addiction issues, we can help. \u00a0To schedule a complementary assessment or to find out more about our teletherapy programs, contact us at\u00a01-800-685-9796<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Anxiety is a normal part of the human experience.\u00a0 For example, a person may experience anxiety before giving a speech, taking a test, or walking down the aisle before getting married.\u00a0 For most people, these moments of anxiety fade quickly.\u00a0 Some people, however, experience anxiety that is so severe or long-lasting that it begins to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2971,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18,32],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nUnderstanding the Fight or Flight Reaction<\/h6>\n
How Anxiety and Fear Differ<\/h6>\n
What Causes Anxiety?<\/h6>\n
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Disorders Associated with Anxiety<\/h6>\n
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Common Symptoms of Anxiety<\/h6>\n
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Understanding Panic Attacks<\/h6>\n
Understanding the Anxiety Loop<\/h6>\n
How to Break the Anxiety Loop<\/h6>\n
Get Back in the Moment<\/h6>\n
Engage Your Mind and Body<\/h6>\n
Use the Stop and Start Technique<\/h6>\n
Ask Yourself: \u201cIs This a Life-or-Death Issue?\u201d<\/h6>\n
Learn Deep Breathing Exercises<\/h6>\n
Break the Cycle of the Anxiety Loop Early and Often<\/h6>\n
We Can Help!<\/h6>\n