Anxiety (pt. 1) - in adults
Do you worry? Are your daily activities or responsibilities causing you worry? Does the current world situation instigate worry or even fear? These questions seem redundant because everyone worries or spends time considering different aspects of life. The difficulty is when our thoughts become persistent or excessive and therefore interrupt life. What is the difference between worry or anxiety? Worry includes recurring thoughts as we go about our daily schedules or routines. Anxiety includes persistent and excessive thoughts which interrupt our daily lives. We “may worry more than seems warranted about actual events or [we] may expect the worst even when there is no apparent reason for concern” (ADAA, 7/28/21). Persistent worries may lead to anxiety which is a word we hear or read frequently. What is anxiety and is it different from worry?
Anxiety is a reaction that can be mental and/or physical. It is a response to something that seems difficult or fearful. Anxiety is filled with energy. This energy can motivate us to make positive changes such as finishing a project, taking a class to gain a specific skill, helping someone in need or even working for justice. However, if the energy from our anxiety is too much, we may feel paralyzed. Anxiety can be negative when it keeps us from our normal routine or daily schedule. Therefore, the challenge is handling our anxiety and its energy effectively. Worry is the combination of thoughts which accompany our daily routine, but which still allow us to function normally. Worry can interrupt our sleep but only for a short period of time. Anxiety can last months and will interrupt most aspects of our life.
The difficulty of anxiety lies in control. Control of a situation, control of our thoughts, control of our reactions, and control of the outcome. As you can see, some of the control is within our power. You and I can control our thoughts, we can control our reactions; but we cannot control every situation or every outcome. For example, as I thought of writing this blog post, I worried, I stressed, and I worried more. I am regularly anxious about writing for others so, I procrastinate. Which does not help. At all. Finally, I take my thoughts in hand and plan how to write on my topic. As I consider and ruminate on the topic, I begin to find the words to write, which is a better reaction than procrastination. The key in my writing is control, control, and direction of my thoughts. Once I decide to direct my thoughts, I gain better control of the situation. Writing is an event we can control. Going to a doctor’s appointment is not something we can usually control; we see a professional when we need help with a physical issue.
What we, you and I, can control is how we think of the event. One step to controlling our thoughts involves deciding if our thoughts are reasonable. Are we allowing our thoughts to determine our reactions? If so, we need to decide how to rein in these thoughts. One way to do this is by writing our thoughts down. Another way is by talking about our thoughts with a friend. After we have seen the doctor, we need to again control how we think of the doctor’s words and how we react to them. Maybe we need to make a lifestyle change. This we can control both with our thoughts and our reactions. Friends, family members, and professionals are good resources for discussing our thoughts and deciding how to react to challenging situations and events.
Some tips for controlling anxiety include, purposeful deep breathing, talking with a friend, some type of physical activity such as going for a walk, or a creative activity such as baking. A previous blog post shows how to use labyrinths to quiet our thoughts and direct our mind’s attention. Click the link to learn an effective way to quiet your thoughts https://www.newhopeministry.info/blog/labyrinth-walking .
If you find yourself overwhelmed by anxiety, powerless to manage or control your thoughts and reactions, and this interrupts your daily schedule, find a professional to help you. Your primary care professional is a good resource who can refer you to other professionals. Another resource is New Hope Counseling Center as we have counselors to help you in your journey or to aid in finding another professional.
If you are a parent overwhelmed with anxiety or want to know if your kids have anxiety, stay tuned for the next blog post.