What is anxiety: how to recognize it and what to do about it

A summary of the main characteristics of anxiety and how we can combat it.

We have all felt anxiety at some pointAnxiety: before an exam, a job interview, an exhibition in public; but when it settles in our lives and begins to limit our day to day life.

After a breakup, a loss of a loved one or simply suddenly, for no apparent reason, is when anxiety begins to worry us.

Now then... what is anxiety and how does it affect us? Let's see it throughout this article, in which we will see a summary of the characteristics of this psychological phenomenon of emotional type and that sometimes can get to produce psychopathologies and in other occasions it is part of an adaptive and useful psychological tool.

What is anxiety?

Anxiety is a set of psychological and physiological processes that appear when real or perceived dangers are perceived, and that predisposes us to react quickly at the slightest signal to do so. It causes the nervous system to remain in a state of high activation, so that it becomes more sensitive to unexpected stimuli.

It is an adaptive response of the human being, as long as it is proportionate to the stimulus that triggers it. It is an alarm signal that if it is prolonged over time for no apparent reason, it is warning us that we have something to review in our life.

Another positive aspect of anxiety is its relationship with performance.described in the Yertes-Dobson Law in 1908; this law states that in a stressful situation, such as taking an exam, anxiety increases, but there is also an increase in efficiency, attention and performance in the response, as long as we do not go beyond certain limits. If we exceed that line, then performance decreases and the information retrieval processes are blocked.

Anxiety begins to worry us when it appears suddenly, unjustifiably and for no apparent reason. If the physical symptoms are very high, we will also become frightened.. Tachycardia, difficulty to breathe, dizziness, muscular tension, etc, are some of the characteristic symptoms of anxiety. When its appearance is maintained in time, in a high form and before stimuli that do not suppose a real threat, it is when we speak of a maladaptive anxiety.

When anxiety manifests itself without prior warning or apparent reason, can lead to lower self-esteem and the "fear of going crazy" typical of anxiety. and the "fear of going crazy" typical of anxiety; this in turn generates a drop in mood and a feeling of helplessness.

Sometimes, stress, the occurrence of specific problems or difficulties, a traumatic event or the loss of a loved one, are some of the causes behind anxiety.

Examples of anxiety disorders

This disproportionate anxiety gives rise to the various manifestations or pictures of anxiety that come to take the form of a psychopathology. These are psychological phenomena of clinical relevance and in which anxiety generates many more problems than it allows to avoid, and sometimes even gives way to physical health complications or even makes the chances of developing other psychopathologies.

The main anxiety disorders are the following:

• Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD).
• Anxiety Crises.
• Panic attacks.
• Agoraphobia.

Main symptoms

Next we will see the physical symptoms, that is to say, the physiological reactions on our body; the cognitive symptoms, related to the cognitions, thoughts and effects on the processing of the information; and the symptoms related to the behavior and how the anxiety influences on this one.

Physical symptoms of anxiety

These are the the main physical symptoms of anxiety.

• Tachycardia.
• Sensation of chest tightness and shortness of breath.
• Muscle tension and tremors.
• Cold sweats.
• Tingling in the extremities, sensations of skin tightening.
• Difficulty falling asleep or waking up startled in the middle of the night.
• Lack of appetite or overeating without hunger.
• Tension or knot in the stomach.
• Feeling dizzy, etc.

Cognitive symptoms

Among the cognitive symptoms of anxiety we highlight the following.

• Excessively negative or catastrophic thoughts.
• Recurrent thoughts of fear of the appearance of physical symptoms, anticipating them.
• Thoughts of anticipation to the future, with fear to the future and to the uncertainty.
• Difficulty in maintaining attention and concentration, significantly lowering memory capacity.
• Disorientation and feeling of loss of control**.
• Fear of going crazy.

Behavioral symptoms of anxiety

Finally, these are the symptoms that are manifested in actions.

• Avoidance of crowded places or going out alone.
• Social relationships may be avoided.
• To check constantly to have control sensation, either on the future by fear to the uncertainty, fear to an illness, etc. This is usually done by asking family and friends, going to the doctor more than usual, etc.
• Constantly checking that everything is in order, to feel some control.

All these symptoms of anxiety contribute to the maintenance of the problem, by establishing a "way out" or short-term solution at the price of perpetuating the existence of the anxiety disorder. As we will see, this kind of psychological disturbances almost always disappear only when one learns to cope with anxiety, instead of trying to block or avoid it. In this way, the vicious circle is broken.

Treatment with a psychologist: how is it done?

The psychologist is aware of how limiting anxiety is for his patients when they do not understand how anxiety works. The good news is that understanding it and knowing what it consists of is the first step to overcoming it..

Many people suffer the onset of symptoms without warning and suddenly, causing them to spend most of their time on alert. This alert is the one that ends up generating sooner or later the appearance of the symptoms. This unpredictability on the appearance of the anxiety crises is one of the causes that have more repercussions on the person, since it can generate low moods. it can generate low moods.

It is evident The success of cognitive-behavioral therapy in the treatment of anxiety disorders is evident.Nowadays its very positive results in its treatment are more than well known thanks to the application of techniques developed after many years of research in psychology, such as progressive exposure techniques, systematic desensitization and the development of coping skills and anxiety unlearning.

During therapy, a fundamental objective is that the person learns to use these techniques in his or her day-to-day life and regain a sense of control over his or her body and mood. so that they can remit the symptoms of anxiety and its crises.

Along with the techniques of cognitive-behavioral psychology to unlearn anxiety, it is very positive, in parallel, the work in psychotherapy of emotions through humanistic psychology as well as the latest techniques developed from the discoveries of neuropsychology, such as EMDR or Brain Integration Techniques.

For the psychologist, the main objective is not that the anxiety disappears, but that the person loses fear of anxiety. that the person loses fear of anxiety and of its occurrenceBy identifying how anxiety manifests itself in our body, emotion and thought and being aware that it is an alarm signal that can teach us a lot about ourselves and how to improve our lives.

Bibliographical references:

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• Phillips, A.C.; Carroll, D.; Der, G. (2015). Negative life events and symptoms of depression and anxiety: stress causation and/or stress generation. Anxiety, Stress, and Coping. 28 (4): pp. 357 - 371.
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