Question about anxiety

Frequently Asked Questions about Anxiety

Anxiety FAQs

Anxiety disorders include Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Frequently Asked Questions about Anxiety

Occasional anxiety is a normal part of life. You might feel anxious when faced with a problem at work, before taking a test, or making an important decision. But anxiety disorders involve more than temporary worry or fear. For a person with an anxiety disorder, the anxiety does not go away and can get worse over time. The feelings can interfere with daily activities such as job performance, school work, and relationships. There are several different types of anxiety disorders. Examples include generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and social anxiety disorder.

Impactful Anxiety Research Discoveries by Foundation Grantees:

Treatment with Immune-Regulating Gut Bacteria May Boost Immune System Against Stress
Targeted Medication Can Improve Effect of Psychotherapy in Anxiety Disorders
The Development of Optogenetics to Help Identify the Mechanisms that Give Rise Anxiety and Other Brain-Related Disorders
New Clues for Medications to Prevent Disorders Caused by Early-Life Stress

For our most recent research summaries, click here.

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What are the five most common types of anxiety disorders?

Answer

Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Panic Disorder
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Social Phobia (or Social Anxiety Disorder)

How are anxiety disorders diagnosed?

Answer

Primary care physicians and psychiatrists diagnose someone as having an anxiety disorder if symptoms occur for six months on more days than not, and significantly interfere with the person’s ability to function at home, work or school.

Doctors perform physical and psychological evaluations to rule out other causes for the symptoms of anxiety. Cardiovascular disease, thyroid problems, menopause, substance abuse and/or drug side effects, such as from steroids, may cause symptoms similar to those of an anxiety disorder.

What are the risk factors for anxiety disorders?

Answer

Researchers are finding that genetic and environmental factors are risk factors for anxiety disorders. Specific factors include:

Shyness, or behavioral inhibition, in childhood
Being female
Having few economic resources
Being divorced or widowed
Exposure to stressful life events in childhood and adulthood
Anxiety disorders in close biological relatives
Parental history of mental disorders
Elevated afternoon cortisol levels in the saliva (specifically for social anxiety disorder)

What are common Anxiety Disorder Treatments?

Answer

Anxiety disorders are generally treated with psychotherapy, medication, or both.

Psychotherapy
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Self-Help or Support Groups

Stress-Management Techniques
Antidepressants
Anti-Anxiety Medications
Beta-Blockers

For more information regarding treatments for Anxiety, visit:

“Love Hormone” Oxytocin Shows Promise in Treating Anxiety Disorders
New Research Further Decodes Brain Circuitry to Improve Anxiety, Depression Treatments

* Source: National Institute of Mental Health

What is the best way to treat children with anxiety disorders?

Answer

Advice to Parents on Diagnosing and Treating Anxiety Disorders in Young People - Dr. Francis Lee of Weill Cornell Medical College and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital focuses on leveraging molecular neuroscience tools to improve our understanding of anxiety disorders. His current research has centered on factors that influence the plasticity of the brain – its ability to change in response to experiences, both good and bad. Dr. Lee additionally sees patients with a focus on anxiety disorders.

According to Daniel S. Pine, M.D., a member of the Foundation’s Scientific Council, and chief of the Section on Development and Affective Neuroscience in the National Institute of Mental Health Intramural Research Program:

There are generally two types of treatments that seem to be equally effective: cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) medications. The best study that compared them directly in kids found one is no better than the other, and that combining the two works better than using one or the other alone. Cognitive behavioral therapy is a really wonderful treatment, but the therapist has to have some experience delivering it. Specific techniques need to be followed. There are not that many therapists in the United States who are readily available to apply those methods.

Read more from Dr. Pine.

What is generalized anxiety disorder?

Answer

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is an exaggerated anxiety and tension that persists for months on end and affects approximately 6.8 million Americans or about 3.1 percent of the population. GAD causes people to anticipate catastrophe and worry excessively about many things, from overarching concerns such as health, money or work to more routine concerns such as car repairs or appointments. GAD affects twice as many women as men, and the anxiety becomes so severe, normal life and relationships become impaired.

Worries can be accompanied by physical symptoms, such as fatigue, headaches, muscle tension and aches, difficulty swallowing, trembling, twitching, irritability, sweating, and hot flashes. The disorder usually develops gradually and may begin any time during life, although the risk is highest between childhood and middle age. It is diagnosed when someone spends at least six months worrying excessively without a specific focus of the fear and an inability to control the anxiety.

What is Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder?

Answer

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder marked by fearful ideas and ritualistic behaviors. Obsessions are repetitive thoughts or impulses, such as a fear of getting infected from someone else’s germs or hurting a loved one. These obsessions create excessive anxiety and stress for the person affected. Although the thoughts are intrusive and unwanted, the person with OCD cannot stop them. Compulsions are repetitive behaviors people with OCD feel compelled to perform in an attempt to control or decrease the anxiety created by the obsessions. This can include things like constantly checking that an oven is off to prevent a fire, or frequent cleaning or hand-washing to avoid contamination.

What is Panic Disorder?

Answer

Panic disorder is characterized by unexpected and repeated episodes of intense fear accompanied by physical symptoms that may include chest pain, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, dizziness or abdominal distress. It is characterized by sudden attacks of terror, usually accompanied by a pounding heart, sweatiness, weakness, faintness or dizziness. During these attacks, people with panic disorder may flush or feel chilled; their hands may tingle or feel numb; and they may experience nausea, chest pain or smothering sensations. Panic attacks usually produce a sense of unreality, a fear of impending doom or a fear of losing control. Panic attacks can occur at any time, even during sleep.

Learn more about Panic Disorder:

The New York Times Reports Discovery About Brain’s Fear/Panic Response
Large-Scale Analysis Links Two of 20 Candidate Genes to Panic Disorder

What is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?

Answer

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened. After traumatic events, such as death, an earthquake, war, car accidents, floods or fires, it is not uncommon for people to experience feelings of heightened fear, worry, sadness or anger. If the emotions persist, however, or become severe, or the person gets triggered into reliving the event in their daily life, this can affect the person’s ability to function and may be a sign of PTSD.

What is Social Phobia?

What is stress?

Answer

Stress is a normal physical response to events that make one feel threatened or that upset one’s balance in some way. When the body senses danger—real or imagined—the body's defenses kick into high gear in a rapid, automatic process known as the ‘fight-or-flight’ reaction, or the stress response. The nervous system responds by releasing a flood of stress hormones, including adrenaline and cortisol, that rouse the body for emergency action.

Learn more about stress:

Webinar: Neurobiology of Stress, Depression and Antidepressants: Remodeling Synaptic Connections
New Discoveries About How Males and Females Respond to Stress Differently at the Molecular Level
Freeze or Run? Opposing Neural Circuits in the Brain Control Reactions to Fear

What is the impact of stress?

Answer

Stress during development has often been regarded as a potentially disruptive force, capable of inducing disease states if overly prolonged or exceedingly intense. It can also, however, favor resiliency and adaptive processing that are crucial to navigating a human life. Countless studies have indicated that severe neglect during infancy, both in humans and in laboratory animals, results in long-term abnormal development of biological systems involved in the regulation of emotions, but the response to stress is also a key driver to individual development. The biological system responsible for physical reactions to a stressor not only coordinates immediate responses to external challenges but also functions as a tool that enables the characterization of an environment as favorable or threatening. Thus the stress response system promotes long-term adaptive processes that prepare the individual to cope with specific external challenges.

What are the main symptoms of stress in adults?

Answer

Cognitive symptoms include memory problems; inability to concentrate; poor judgment; anxious or racing thoughts and constant worrying
Emotional symptoms include moodiness; irritability or short temper; agitation; inability to relax; a feeling of overwhelm; a sense of loneliness and isolation
Physical symptoms include aches and pains; diarrhea or constipation; nausea; dizziness; chest pain; rapid heartbeat
Behavioral symptoms include eating more or less; sleeping too much or too little; isolating yourself from others; procrastinating or neglecting responsibilities; using alcohol, cigarettes, or drugs to relax; engaging in nervous habits (e. g., nail biting, pacing)

What are the symptoms of stress in children and teens?

Answer

Youth of all ages, but especially younger children, may find it difficult to recognize and verbalize when they are experiencing stress. For children, stress can manifest itself through changes in behavior. Common changes can include irritability, withdrawal from formerly pleasurable activities, routine expression of worries, excessive complaints about school, frequent crying, display of surprising fearful reactions, separation anxiety, sleeping too much or too little, or eating too much or too little. With teens, while spending more time with and confiding in peers is a normal part of growing up, significantly avoiding parents, abandoning long-time friendships for a new set of peers, or expressing excessive hostility toward family members may indicate that the teen is experiencing significant stress.

Are there coping factors to help deal effectively with stress?

Answer

In their 20 years of treating and studying trauma survivors, Drs. Dennis Charney and Steven Southwick have identified ten common practices in people who have shown resilience in the face of extreme stress.

Maintaining an optimistic but realistic outlook
Facing fear (ability to confront one’s fears)
Reliance upon own inner, moral compass
Turning to religious or spiritual practices
Seeking and accepting social support
Imitation of sturdy role models
Staying physically fit
Staying mentally sharp
Cognitive and emotional flexibility (finding a way to accept that which cannot be changed)
Looking for meaning and opportunity in the midst of adversity

Check out this webinar featuring Dr. Charney: Resilience: The Science of Mastering Life's Greatest Challenges

What is resilience?

Answer

In the physical sciences, materials and objects are termed resilient if they resume their original shape upon being bent or stretched. In people, resilience refers to the ability to ‘bounce back’ after encountering difficulty.

Check out this webinar featuring Dr. Charney: Resilience: The Science of Mastering Life's Greatest Challenges

Where Can I Learn more about Anxiety Disorders?

Answer

Find answers to more questions about Anxiety and related disorders in our Ask the Expert section.

View our Meet the Scientist Webinar on Anxiety: Early-Life Stress: Long-Lasting Impact on Brain Circuitry and Behavior

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Answers to Commonly Asked Questions About Anxiety

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Save Article IconA bookmarkShare iconAn curved arrow pointing right. Read in app Anxiety comes in many forms. iStock

Anxiety is the body's emotional and physiological response to environmental triggers.
Anxiety isn't always a bad thing, but in some cases, it could make day-to-day life more difficult.
There are a lot of ways to deal with anxiety ranging from prescriptions to meditation.

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Anxiety can manifest itself in many different ways and it can impact people with varying levels of severity. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, in the United States alone, over 40 million adults live with an anxiety disorder. Even though it can be fairly common, there are still a lot of questions and misconceptions surrounding anxiety.

Here are the answers to 10 of the most common questions about anxiety.

What is anxiety?

Turbulence can activate anxious thoughts. Seung Heo/ iStock

"Anxiety is the body's emotional and physiological response to triggers in the environment," Lindsay E. Gerber, PsyD, licensed clinical psychologist at The Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center told INSIDER. Triggers can be verbal, visual, physical, auditory, or olfactory (smell). It's these triggers that cause anxious distress.

These anxious thoughts, which are often referred to as negative automatic thoughts, incite emotional and physiological distress like a faulty alarm system. For example, Gerber said turbulence on an airplane (a physical trigger) can activate anxious thoughts such as "the plane is going to crash" or "we're all going to die."

"When experiencing anxiety, our brain sends a message to our body that we are in immense danger when in reality, we are physically safe," she said. As we know, turbulence is quite normal and does not indicate that there is something wrong with the plane. However, Gerber said our anxiety sends us into flight or fight mode and physically ramps up our body.

How do I know if I am experiencing anxiety?

Anxiety can cause you to get a headache.

Sarah Schmalbruch/INSIDER

Gerber said some of the more common symptoms of anxiety include increased heart rate, palpitations, sweating, dizziness, headaches, upset stomach, shortness of breath, and difficulty concentrating.

What happens in your body when you experience anxiety?

Anxious test takers can sometimes forget answers during an exam.

AP Photo/Stephen J. Boitano

Knowing what happens in your body is the key to understanding the symptoms you experience when dealing with anxiety. Dr. Amy Serin, a neuropsychologist at the Serin Center, told INSIDER that your brain operates in either stress mode or calm mode and can turn stress and anxiety on like a switch, whether you're aware of it or not.

"When you're anxious, all functions that aren't needed for in-the-moment survival start to shut down, this is why anxious test takers can't remember answers during the exam and then they come flooding in once the test is over and they start to calm down," she explained. "Memory shuts down, higher order thinking, planning, organizing, and even digestion doesn't work when people are in a state of anxiety."

Is anxiety always a bad thing?

Sometimes it can help keep you motivated. jacoblund/ iStock

Although anxiety can be tough to deal with, Gerber said our goal is never to eliminate all of our anxiety.

"We all benefit from moderate levels of anxiety, as anxiety helps up to stay motivated to achieve our goals," she told INSIDER. "If our anxiety levels were too low, we wouldn't be motivated to get anything accomplished."

Read More: How to spot the difference between everyday worries and an anxiety disorder, according to experts

I can't "turn off my mind" at night, how do I do that?

Meditation could help. Photographee.eu/Shutterstock

The racing thoughts that occupy your mind during the day don't automatically shut off because it's time to go to bed. So, how do you slow down and calm your mind at night?

Dr. Kevin Gilliland, PsyD and executive director of Innovation360, told INSIDER that you should ensure you have time to relax without work or mental stimulation so that you can ease into sleep.

"For many people with active minds, it's very challenging to 'turn off' the brain," Gilliand explained. That's why you want to leave as much time as you can, at least 30 to 60 minutes to decompress from the day.

Does breathing help anxiety?

Focusing on your breathing can help. Luna Vandoorne/Shutterstock

When people are super anxious, they're oftentimes told to slow down and breathe. But what is it about this simple technique that works so well?

Deborah Rasso, LMHC, therapist at The Palm Beach Institute, a Delphi Behavioral Health Group facility told INSIDER that often when a person is anxious, they begin "over-breathing" (breathing too quickly), which can cause a physiological response of increased heart rate and blood pressure. That's why one of the quickest and most effective treatments for anxiety is to slow the breath.

"When you control your breathing, it can lower your heart rate, and your blood pressure," she told INSIDER. To do this, Rasso said to focus on the breath. "[Try] belly breathing. It's simply making sure that you take a deep breath in so that the belly expands and then breathe out so that the belly contracts."

What can I do if I feel my anxiety escalating to a panic attack?

You may be able to recognize the symptoms of one.

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Not everyone who has anxiety will experience a panic attack. However, Rasso said the best way to avoid panic attacks is to recognize the symptoms of anxiety as they begin to occur and to take steps to lower the anxiety before it has a chance to escalate.

"The most common signs of anxiety include racing thoughts, increase heart rate, fast breathing, stomach upset, shaking hands, sweating and ruminating thoughts, when one thought or worry that keeps playing in your mind," she told INSIDER. "If you begin to experience the signs of increased anxiety, you should immediately begin using a coping skill to lower the anxiety before panic has a chance to set in. "

Some coping skills Rasso recommended include deep breathing, exercising, meditating, and other grounding techniques.

When is the right time to seek professional help?

If your daily life is impacted by your anxiety, you may want to seek professional help. Shutterstock/WAYHOME studio

It can be difficult to know when the anxiety you're experiencing shifts from normal worries to a disorder that needs to be addressed. Gerber said anxiety becomes problematic and may evolve into an anxiety disorder when the level of the distress intensifies to the point that it impairs an individual's ability to function in daily life.

Should I take medications for my anxiety?

You'll want to speak to a medical professional first. Sarah Schmalbruch/INSIDER

One of the more popular questions about anxiety is regarding medications. There are a lot of options that doctors may prescribe to treat anxiety, including medications. Only you and your doctor can decide if this is a good option for you.

So if anxiety is becoming a major issue in your life, you should speak to a medical professional to evaluate if medications are the right choice for you.

Can you ever prevent anxiety from interfering with your life and goals?

There are a lot of treatment options available for those trying to manage their anxiety. Shutterstock/Monkey Business Images

When you're in the throes of handling an anxiety disorder or experiencing high levels of anxiety, it's not uncommon to question your ability to stop it from interfering with your life and your goals. But Dr. Prakash Masand, a psychiatrist and founder of the Centers of Psychiatric Excellence, said the good news is that you absolutely can.

In fact, he pointed out many famous people who experienced huge success despite their anxiety. "With the right treatment, whether that's medication, therapy, alternative treatments or a combination of those, people can go on to lead very successful and fulfilling lives," he said.

Visit INSIDER's homepage for more.

basic questions about anxiety that you need to know the answers to We collected all the questions received and turned them to a specialist - a consulting psychologist Evgenia Konstantinova, who runs the blog "Psychology as a Science".

Evgenia answered questions and additionally advised useful advisory literature for those wishing to increase their awareness in this topic. nine0003

What is anxiety? How to understand that you are in an anxious state?

Anxiety is a specific emotional state, consisting in the expectation of some negative event. Often this experience is abstract in nature, when you seem to be trying to avoid a threat, but do not understand in which area of your life and which one. The state of anxiety has several manifestations, both at the physiological and at the behavioral levels.

Physiology: increased heart rate, respiration, increased sweating, increased pressure. nine0003

Behavioral: the expectation of danger makes it difficult for you to concentrate on your daily duties. You may be haunted by repetitive chains of thoughts (rumination), which leads to an inefficient waste of time. However, oddly enough, anxiety can also have positive effects, and for some time help you gather, concentrate and act more organized. In the long run, this threatens to deplete the internal resources of your body. (large psychological dictionary)

What is the difference between an anxiety disorder and an anxiety disorder?

We can talk about a personality disorder when it comes to persistent behaviors. Often they begin to appear in childhood or adolescence and significantly affect a person's life. (ICD 10, Mental and behavioral disorders F00-F99)

How to understand that your loved one is in an anxious state?

Since anxiety is characterized by the expectation of danger, you will notice that your loved one talks a lot about the possible negative outcomes of different situations. He concentrates on the ideas of protection against these negative outcomes and comes up with endless plans, but at the same time he does not feel comfort. nine0003

How can you help someone else cope with anxiety?

The most important thing is not to devalue a person's experiences. If you start to convince him that his fears are based on fantasy, then your loved one will only feel misunderstood, which, most likely, will only increase his anxiety.

The opposite strategy - getting involved in all the talk about possible threats, helping hard to prepare a risk reduction plan - will not help either. Although your loved one will feel your support and participation, you yourself are likely to become infected with anxiety and stop realistically assessing the situation. nine0003

The best thing to do is to listen to the person and not evaluate their fears, even if they seem absurd to you, and then share your opinion about these events. Thus, if your interlocutor is ready for this, then he will have a contrast between his reaction and yours. Then he can be more critical of his anxiety.

Don't bet too much on this help, though. Since we are all emotionally involved in our loved ones, it is very difficult to keep the necessary distance to help in a situation that is difficult for everyone. nine0003

How can I help myself cope with anxiety?

I would conditionally divide the methods of dealing with anxiety into two categories, depending on what goals you are pursuing.

If you are having a severe anxiety attack and need to do something quickly, various behavioral techniques such as focusing on your breathing, engaging in routine activities (such as cleaning), writing down the thoughts that are bothering you, and the like can be helpful.

When it comes to the long term, it is more effective to focus on working with your thinking. It is worth observing the thoughts that excite you. Perhaps they have categorical wording, for example, "I should be calm and collected.” In the case when you are in an uncertain situation, this requirement in relation to yourself may be excessive. Failure to live up to your own expectations only increases anxiety. You can try to soften the initial thought: "It would be nice if I could keep calm and collected. " The content of your desire does not change, but the degree of pressure is greatly reduced. You should be critical of your conclusions, which contain the following elements: everything, always, never, always, must, must. These words tend to indicate that you are exaggerating or generalizing too much. nine0003

How useful are remedies such as sedative herbal teas, tinctures and the like?

Definitely do not take soothing teas and other similar methods as a complete alternative to drugs. If you understand that your condition is very unstable, or if the doctor has already prescribed some drugs for you, you should not abandon the achievements of medicine and rely on “natural remedies”. But if your usual rhythm of life does not have qualitative changes, but there is background anxiety, then you can try soothing tea. If it seems to you that it improves your condition, then why not take advantage of it? nine0003

Are there popular but definitely harmful methods of coping with stress?

A very popular and very harmful direction to take when dealing with stress is to convince yourself that "everything will be fine. " At present, unfortunately, there are still many people in the field of psychology who, for various reasons, argue that “thoughts are material”, “what you think will surround you”, “you need to leave your comfort zone”, and so on. Still, do not forget that the feeling of anxiety arises in you for a reason, and has a very important function - to warn you of danger. Accordingly, if something bothers you, then avoiding this topic in the long run will be just as dangerous as completely immersing yourself in thoughts about the meaninglessness of being. nine0003

The danger here is that in your fantasies of a brighter future, you can become very out of touch with reality and miss opportunities to stabilize the situation, or underestimate the consequences of your actions and worsen your situation. The fallacy of this strategy is that in the short term it can actually improve your emotional state by giving you hope.

How useful is it to relieve stress by yelling, crying, hitting dishes, hitting a gym bag, shooting a gun, and other similar activities? This refers to methods in which the other person does not suffer, or, for example, contact martial arts. That is, if you scream, then into the pillow, break dishes in specialized places and not only. nine0006

This may help you in the short term. But using such methods all the time is inefficient. All of us can be very strongly captured by some kind of emotion, and under its influence there may be a desire for some kind of active action: to shout, to break something, to break it, and so on. By itself, this process is not pathological. But if this is the only way for you to cope with your experiences, then this is a problem. In addition, "splashing out energy" as a way will not give anything. It does not help you realize something, increase your resistance to stress, change the way you think. That is, temporarily you will feel better, but the next time you encounter problems, you will react the same way. nine0003
What is information hygiene? How does it help with anxiety or what to do to make it help?

In simple terms, information hygiene is a group of practices that help you control the data that surrounds you. This, of course, is very important for the formation of an optimal emotional state. If you read news that mainly consists of the personal opinion of the author, filled with assessments, touches on topics that are personally charged for you, then it is logical to assume that this will not positively affect your condition. nine0003
The amount of information received is also important. If you put aside all your affairs in order to follow the news agenda, you find yourself in a situation where very little happens in your real life. You become even more involved in the news and even more out of control of your own reality. This situation in itself provokes anxiety. It is worth consuming information from those sources that strive for objectivity. And to do it in such a way that it is possible to maintain a balance between involvement in public life and one's own. nine0003
Can an eating disorder develop as a result of anxiety? What can be done to avoid this?

Yes, maybe. Food is a fairly simple way to have fun. And someone on the background of stress, on the contrary, loses appetite. All these are sides of the same coin. Of course, the most effective thing you can do is to solve your emotional problems. In the long run, self-control in this area will not help you. Eating disorders are a serious symptom, and if you have one, then this is an occasion to consult a specialist. Even if subjectively it seems to you that this is not so. nine0003
What literature, videos or methods would you recommend for dealing with anxiety?

- Albert Ellis "Calm down! Control anxiety before it starts to control you "
- Ilse Sand "Compass of emotions"
- A. Back "Anxiety and anxiety. Cognitive Behavioral Approach”
– R. Leahy “Freedom from Anxiety”

When anxiety can no longer be cured on its own, and should you consult a specialist?

If you understand that your emotional state has changed so much that you cannot lead your usual way of life, then it is definitely not worth hoping that “it will pass by itself”. But most often it is difficult for a person to independently assess their condition. We all have cognitive distortions and psychological defenses that are triggered, so it may seem that help is not needed. For this reason, it is important to discuss these issues with loved ones, asking them to evaluate how much your behavior has changed. nine0003
What can anxiety become if you don't work on it? Should I consult a psychotherapist for any signs of anxiety?

If you have such an opportunity, then, of course, it is better to seek psychological help even with minor manifestations of anxiety. In this way, you can learn how to deal with your emotional problems, which will save you a lot of time.

If you choose to ignore the problem, you should be aware that this can have long-term consequences. Constantly experiencing stress reduces your effectiveness in all areas. This, in turn, leads you to do less than you could, and get a corresponding result. If your achievements decrease, the level of stress only increases, and a vicious circle is formed. nine0003
Seven questions that those who constantly worry should ask themselves

Rus.Delfi.lv | November 7, 2015 11:16 AM

Photo: Shutterstock

There is nothing good about anxiety, especially constant anxiety. It is difficult to call a state of mind in which a person is constantly "on the alert" absolutely normal. If a person realizes this and wants to worry less, then here are seven questions that he should ask himself and answer them honestly for himself. nine0003
By the way, the questions were not created by us, but by a professional psychologist who specializes in cognitive behavioral therapy.

1. Are my worries controlled or solved?

We may be worried about the state of the planet, and there is also a hypothetical situation in which a person dear to us dies. These are things that are out of our control and we can't resolve them right now, so "playing" with worries about this only fuels the fire of anxiety. Therefore, if you answer "no" to the question "is it solvable?", then thank your brain for warning you and imagine mentally putting off worrying about the problem in a warm and dry place. Because simply suppressing your anxieties will only increase them, while being kind to yourself and your feelings will allow you to calm down. nine0003
This resolves 95% of alarms.

2. Is this a minor problem?

If you've been staring at a menu for 20 minutes, unable to make a choice even though other people around you are starving or can't decide which movie you want to watch, it might be time to ask yourself how this is an important issue. If the answer is "not so important", then just trust that you can make a decision - and make it immediately. If the answer is no and you understand that choosing an apartment is a very important decision, then allocate maximum resources and all your attention to its decision. nine0003
Worrying about problems doesn't solve them, you solve problems.

3. Do I believe that anxiety helps me solve problems?

Photo: Shutterstock

Anxiety is a liar. We believe her, we believe when she talks about what helps us solve the problem. And, since we believe, we allow ourselves to worry. However, anxiety sucks us into a whirlpool of disturbing thoughts and feelings. And now, an hour later, we find that the problem has not been solved, but instead we have already come to some completely nightmarish ideas and assumptions. We reproach ourselves for inaction, but we continue to worry. And then we are already physically and mentally unable to cope with the stress in which we plunged ourselves. nine0003
As stated above, worrying does not solve problems. This fact must be remembered every time when we begin to revel in our anxieties, believing that this helps us in something.

4. Do I believe that every thought that comes to my mind is important?

If you answer yes to this, then you are not alone - so many people think so. However, in reality this is not so - thoughts come from nowhere and go nowhere completely spontaneously, their appearance can provoke anything: unusual sights, sounds, smells. There is often no merit at all in the appearance of thoughts in your head. And certainly not all of these thoughts are important. nine0003
Not every thought needs to be thought through, and we are often much happier if we allow thoughts to leave our minds as freely as they came in.

5. Do I believe that "to be anxious" means "to be ready"?

Sometimes we believe that if we worry enough, it will set us up for something bad. Some people get so carried away with this mental gymnastics that they are a little out of touch with reality. Having moved to a new house, for example, instead of rejoicing and enjoying this important event, they begin to maniacally make a list of all possible breakdowns and misfortunes that can happen, and, having compiled it, they begin to "nurture" it and constantly supplement it. So they confuse foresight (setting an alarm and listing the numbers of a plumber, electrician, etc. is definitely worth it) and obsession with the bad. nine0003
If you find yourself thinking about the worst-case scenario all the time, ask yourself what would you rather do for the rest of your days - keep thinking about it or just relax a little and enjoy life?

6. When did I start to worry?

Photo: Shutterstock

All constantly anxious people are divided into two parts - those who were anxious "always" and those who began to worry "after the event X happened." If you are in the first category, you will have to remember childhood, because the roots of anxiety definitely lie there - increased anxiety can not only be transmitted genetically, it can be easily acquired. If you are from the second camp, then you need to think about that event and return to the first question on our list. nine0003
Anxiety can be a way of self-protection, but this is not always normal.
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