Anxiety in society is rife and seemingly on the rise. A report from the Resolution Foundation published today (26th February 2024) states that one third of 18-30 year olds are suffering from anxiety, depression or bi-polar disorder. In May last year the UK’s Mental Health Foundation reported that 73% Britons had experienced anxiety that had interfered with their daily life in the previous 2 weeks with 20% feeling anxious all or most of the time. If you count yourself amongst that latter group, you will know that ongoing anxiety that preoccupies you without let-up can leave you feeling exhausted, on edge and prevent you from enjoying life.
But what is actually happening when you are feeling anxious?
Anxiety is related to but not the same as worry. Worry is a function of the mind, whereas anxiety impacts both the body and the mind via the autonomic nervous system and leads to physical symptoms. It makes people feel irritable, tense or panicky, they may struggle to concentrate, make decisions or sleep well, and they may tremble, shake or sweat profusely. The fight, flight and freeze responses to anxiety are also physical in nature – they are the nervous system’s way of managing anxiety, although often these can cause as many problems as they solve.
In essence, anxiety is an intense feeling of internal insecurity; of feeling under threat and often of not being able to trust either ourself or others. It is normal for humans to experience some anxiety in response to physical or psychological stressors and without it we wouldn’t be alive; it helps to keep us safe and secure. But when anxiety is chronic and debilitating, we suffer and every aspect of our lives can start to feel affected.
You may recognise some of the following causes of anxiety as detailed by the mental health charity Mind:
- exhaustion or a build up of stress
- lots of change or uncertainty
- feeling under pressure while studying or in work
- long working hours or, conversely, being out of work
- money problems
- housing problems and hopelessness
- worrying about the environment or natural disasters (sometimes called climate anxiety or eco-anxiety)
- losing someone close to you (sometimes called bereavement)
- feeling lonely or isolated
- being bullied or harassed, including experiencing racism
However, anxiety isn’t only the result of experiences that we have had or are having; it can also be the result of experiences that we haven’t had. And what I mean by that, is that we may have missed out on learning experiences, generally in our earlier lives, that have allowed us to develop agency, self-worth, resilience and a sense of trust in ourselves and others. These are the attributes that give us the capacity to lead a life full of confidence and capability, affected by as few anxieties as possible.
There are plenty of ‘hacks’ that can help us to calm our anxious nervous systems in the moment (e.g. experiencing our immediate environment through our senses, counting back from 100 in 3s, ‘square’ breathing). However, these won’t help us to avoid anxiety in the first place; for that we need to find a way to plug the ‘experience gap’ – to gain the skills and experiences that we are missing.
The first step to combatting anxiety is to understand what it is, how we personally experience it and what we need to lessen our experiences of anxiety. And I hope that this article may go some way to offer you that. Beyond that you may choose to go it alone – to do your research and work with determination and focus to develop the skills you need. Alternatively, you may wish to seek out a therapist, counsellor or life coach who can support you through this process. Whatever you choose, good luck!
For more information or support through this process, please give me a call (07729 773469) or email me ([email protected]).