Understand your anxiety.

Anxiety comes from fear of someone or fear of something. It is a very powerful emotion and when is experienced can lead to extreme distress. While a little level of anxiety can help us focus and motivates us to do well (for example you may be nervous before a presentation you give in front of your colleagues and may say to yourself or others: “I’m a little anxious”), being anxious most of the time is a problem.

Anxiety can manifest itself through phobias (fear of particular things or situations, such as fear of flying, fear of spiders, fear of heights, etc.) OCD (when you think about or do things over and over again), PTSD (when you have repeated memories of traumas) or panic attacks(when you can’t breath and feel like you are going to die).

If you have experienced anxiousness al least once in your lifetime, you know the physical signs: tense muscles, sweaty palms, difficulty breathing, feeling hot, going red in the face and increased heart rate.

We are anxious when we perceive a danger, when we believe that somebody or something is threatening us. The three responses that we adopt when we are faced with danger are: fight, flight or freeze. Our body is prepared for any of these there responses (increased heart rate and sweating to cool our body in preparation for fighting or running away; tense muscles for freezing, in the hope that we won’t be noticed). Any of these responses are normal human reactions in dangerous situations.

When you understand what is going on in your body and identify thoughts connected with the specific circumstances in which you are anxious, you can learn how to manage your anxiety and how to better cope with those situations. You will begin to take control of your life and will not feel powerless any longer.