All of us, at some time or other, feel anxious. After all, worrying about the future – both immediate and distant – is a natural part of being human. However, anxiety can become a mental health disorder that dominates thoughts, causes withdrawal from social contact, and/or is characterised by feelings of dread and lack of self-esteem. These thoughts can manifest physically – perhaps as shortness of breath, feeling dizzy or excessive sweating amongst other things – while psychological symptoms include difficulty concentrating, a sense of doom and feeling perennially on edge. For some, it is a near-constant feeling. For others, certain triggers may cause anxiety attacks. So, how to stop anxiety?
Here we look at what anxiety is, how to stop an anxiety attack, tips to stop anxiety attacks from starting and how to curb anxious thoughts crowding our brains.
What Is Anxiety?
Anxiety is an umbrella term for a number of conditions and, like many illnesses, it can be mild or severe. Broadly, it is characterised by a feeling of unease or fear, that can be constant or come in intense waves.
The NHS should always be the first port of call if you think you may be experiencing symptoms of anxiety. Whether you book an appointment with your GP, or you first check in with its website for an objective context to the feelings you are experiencing, it is not something you need ever go through alone – contrary to the startling statistic that more than 50 per cent of those with anxiety do not seek help or support for the condition.
As the NHS states, everyone feels anxious at certain points in their lives, whether before an exam or starting a new job. Where anxiety crosses a threshold into a mental health disorder is when those worries become hard to control and begin to affect daily life.
Anxiety encompasses a range of conditions, including but not limited to panic disorder, phobias (for example, agoraphobia), post-traumatic stress disorder, and social anxiety disorder. Generalised Anxiety Disorder, however, is, as the NHS states, a long-term condition that causes you to feel anxious about a wide range of situations and issues, rather than one specific event. People with GAD feel anxious most days and often struggle to remember the last time they felt relaxed. As soon as one anxious thought is resolved, another may appear about a different issue.’
These issues may manifest as restlessness, worry, difficulty concentrating or sleeping, and dizziness and heart palpitations. But before we can address how to stop anxiety thoughts, it is important to consider the causes of GAD. These can include ‘overactivity in areas of the brain involved in emotions and behaviour; an imbalance of the brain chemicals serotonin and noradrenaline, which are involved in the control and regulation of mood; the genes you inherit from your parents – you're estimated to be five times more likely to develop GAD if you have a close relative with the condition; having a history of stressful or traumatic experiences, such as domestic violence, child abuse or bullying; having a painful long-term health condition, or having a history of drug or alcohol misuse.’
However, GAD can – and often do – present for no apparent reason.
To find out more, visit the NHS’s guidance here.
Emotional Anxiety
There are various ways in which anxiety can present. To best understand our responses, it is important to note that, psychologically, anxious feelings are commonly known as ‘secondary emotions. As Very Well Mind explains explains, ‘a secondary emotion is one that is experienced in place of another emotion that is difficult for the person to feel or express. A primary emotion is the initial reactions that we have.’
For example, our initial emotional response may be a disappointment, hurt, jealousy, embarrassment or sadness. Two commons secondary emotions that can swoop in to mask the primary response are anxiety and anger, both of which can be overpowering and thus ‘protect’ us from having to deal with more complex feelings. Nonetheless, it is important to unpick the root cause of our anxiety or anger so that we can better understand the true emotion that is causing us to feel the way that we do.
However, as Very Well Mind explains, for those with GAD, the process of unearthing the primary emotion can be difficult because sufferers experience much of life through the prism of anxiety anyway. Nonetheless, though it is not easy, it is vital to try to understand our feelings, and to allow ourselves to consider the possibility of other emotions underlying those of anxiety. They say, ‘In just considering that there are other feelings underneath your anxiety, you are taking great leaps forward in understanding yourself, having greater emotional intelligence and having the ability to make efforts to improve your situation based on other underlying feelings.’
To find out more, read the full article here.
Physical Anxiety
If you have ever been to the doctor and had your symptoms dismissed as ‘in your mind’, there is some chance that your physician may have been right about the root cause (if not the attitude of dismissal).
As Harvard Health explains, symptoms such as nausea, headaches, shortness of breath, and stomach or muscle pain may indeed be caused by emotions – but there is a physical explanation at work concurrently too. Blame it, they say, on the autonomic nervous system. This is the unconscious system which regulates breathing, heart rate and urination – and responds when we’re in physical danger by placing us in fight-or-flight mode. However, we do not need to be in physical danger for our brains to perceive a threat – this can also be brought about due to mental stress and anxiety too.
‘Doctors see it all the time — patients with real pain or other symptoms, but nothing is physically wrong with them,’ says Dr Arthur Barsky, professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. ‘Anxiety and stress themselves produce these physical symptoms, and on top of that, your reaction to those symptoms can make them worse. The more you focus on them, the more alarmed you become, and the more intense your symptoms become. It can get really out of control and become so uncomfortable that you might not be able to do much more than sit and worry.’
So how to stop heart palpitations due to anxiety? Or how about how to stop feeling sick from anxiety, or how to stop shaking from anxiety? It is important first to assess whether stress is at the root of your physical ailments. Have you recently undergone a stressful event or unsettling period in your life? What about your physical response – are you tensing your muscles? If so, this could be a clue that your physical symptoms have been triggered by an emotional experience.
If you identify that anxiety might be at the root of what you’re experiencing, it is important to find ways to distract yourself, says Dr Barksy. ‘It's good to build a repertoire of things that can distract you from your focus on your body. Look at a photo album. Do the laundry. This can fairly reliably get you out of a cycle of increased anxiety and increased physical symptoms.’
To read the full article, click here.
Negative Effects Of Anxiety
What are the symptoms of an anxiety attack? As those who have suffered know, it can involve an intensely overwhelming cocktail of physical and mental indicators, from paranoia to thought-racing to increased blood pressure. Without proper treatment, there can be long and short-term effects which create complications that can negatively impact your life.
As we have already seen, anxiety may be classified as a mental health disorder, but its impact on our physical health is not to be underestimated. It can cause shaking, fatigue, dizziness, upset stomachs, aching muscles, breathing problems and increased blood pressure – to mention nothing of the long-term effects of the frequent release of cortisol and norepinephrine on health. Over time, these can take their toll, inducing memory problems, migraines, a weakened immune system and a risk of heart disease.
So how to stop anxiety naturally? Banyan Mental Health advises, ‘Seeking treatment for anxiety is crucial, especially if you have continuous panic attacks. Other ways to calm or stop an anxiety attack include focusing on breathing and slowing your breath. Additionally, you can acquire a support system or communicate your emotions to a family member or friend. Then try new hobbies that can relax you, providing a positive distraction. Also, exercise and a healthy diet are always helpful!’
To read the full article, click here.
Tips On How To Stop Anxiety
There are some excellent resources for tips to stop anxiety online, whether you are seeking help with how to stop social anxiety or how to stop ruminating anxiety, or more specific advice, such as how to stop anxiety binge eating.
In the first instance, it is useful for sufferers to try to accept anxiety as opposed to fighting it. When in the midst of suffering heart palpitations, that may not seem like welcome advice. It is, after all, entirely natural to want to seek out how to stop anxiety quickly. But, says David H. Rosmarin, PhD, associate professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School in Boston, while it may feel counterintuitive, letting anxiety run its course, rather than fighting it, can be a helpful strategy. ‘When you worry about getting rid of your anxiety, you’re signalling your nervous system that you have even more to be anxious about. And that makes your anxiety worse,’ he says.
What’s more, fighting anxiety is often what causes a full-blown panic attack. Web MD suggests these three steps instead:
- Recognise and understand your anxiety
- Don’t criticize yourself for those feelings
- Know that you can have anxiety and still function well
When it comes to how to stop your heart from racing from anxiety among other symptoms, Web MD suggests a variety of strategies.
- Do ask yourself how likely the thing you’re worried about is to happen
- Do share your worries with someone you trust
- Breathe
- Remind yourself that you are safe
- Use a mantra
- Choose a window of time in your day to focus on your anxieties
For more tips on how to stop anxiety, click here.
The Anxiety and Depression Association of America, meanwhile, has an excellent checklist for anyone suffering from anxiety. It is particularly good thanks to its easily digestible bullet points that may be of use in the midst of an attack, as well as at calmer moments in between. Starting with the basics – eating balanced meals and getting regular exercise – it also reminds us to welcome humour, take deep breaths and remember, crucially, that we cannot control everything.
For more tips on how to stop anxiety, read the full article here.
Another excellent resource to keep bookmarked on your phone or computer if you suffer from anxiety is Psych Central’s advice on how to reduce anxiety quickly. It details breathing techniques; advocates naming what you are feeling so that you may understand it better and calm down quicker; advises thinking of something funny, going for a run or taking a cold shower; filing your worry away in your mind; and using the 5-4-3-2-1 coping technique – ideally paired with deep breathing.
For more tips on how to stop anxiety quickly, check the full article here.
When To Seek Advice Or Treatment From A Medical Professional
As we have established, anxiety is a normal part of life and can, in certain circumstances, even be motivating. But when feelings of anxiety are outside the realm of the contextual norm or are taking over your daily life, that can be a signifier that you need to seek external help from a medical professional.
Baptist health lists the signs and symptoms that you may need help with anxiety clearly as follows:
- An inability to turn off thoughts, resulting in issues sleeping or getting through your day-to-day life
- Feeling fatigued or tense in the body
- Feeling like the world is moving too fast around you and you can’t catch up or take a breath
- Panic attacks
- Medicating with substance abuse
- Persistent negative self talk
- Feeling ruled by high expectations, perfectionist behaviours, or even being rigid
- Becoming socially withdrawn or isolated
To find out more, read the full article here.
Summary
Feeling anxious some of the time is not a cause for alarm. However, if your feelings of anxiety are uncontrollable, are causing physical symptoms or making you feel distressed or withdraw from your life, it is important to seek medical help. Appropriate therapy can ensure that you are able to put coping strategies in place when anxiety attacks strike.
September 2022
