NEGATIVE THOUGHTS &
EMOTIONS
AND WHAT THEY DO TO US
Anxiety - A few simple facts
- Anxiety is a form of fear that happens
as a result of thoughts, rather than because of real immediate danger in the present environment.
People, unlike
animals, can cause adrenaline to be produced in their own bodies with a thought. Because the thought and the environment are not the same (as it would be for a zebra which
spots a lion), the action requisite to get rid of the adrenaline in the system doesn't happen (the zebra starts to
run, which is why it needs the adrenaline shock injection in the first place!).
What happens in
people is that they don't get rid of the adrenaline, so it builds up, and up - causing more thoughts which in
turn trigger more adrenaline releases.
Symptoms Of Anxiety
Too much adrenaline in the body causes all the
symptoms anxiety sufferers are so familiar with:
- The typical
changes in the heart rate associated with anxiety;
- Body
sensations like dry mouth and throat, trembling (like in shaky handwriting), sweating, flushing, chest pains
and tightness in the chest, being unable to breathe properly;
- Racing
thoughts that spin out of control; paranoia and hallucinations;
- Headaches
(stress headaches, anxiety headaches), migraines;
- Vision
disturbances, dizziness, inability to see things clearly or to interpret what is being seen correctly (like
dyslexia or totally failing to make sense of numbers, maths, symbols, maps, etc.);
- Digestive
problems as digestion is shut down or reduced during adrenaline outbursts;
- Eating
problems such as sugar cravings (insulin reduces adrenaline in the blood), hunger pangs, and also loss of
appetite on the other hand;
- Hyper
vigilance or becoming overly sensitive to all sorts of sounds, sights, touches, tastes and
smells;
- Failure to be
able to concentrate on the here-and-now, functional failures (performance anxiety) like clumsiness, erection
problems, "blocks" (to writing, public speaking, social skills, learning etc. etc), forgetfulness;
- Inability to
focus on others, making good connections with others, attuning or relating to others;
- Sleep
disturbances, trouble getting to sleep, sleeping badly, feeling tired and worn out as a result - which makes
all of the above even worse;
... and that is just the tip of the iceberg.
Anxiety, in
contrast to natural fear, is thereby a physiological state of a body that is too full of adrenaline, and the mental
or psychological problems and the behaviour problems and performance problems normally associated with high stress
and anxiety are just a result of that underlying problem.
Note:
Taken from Silvia Hartman’s article Anxiety Self Help Treatment
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