What is anxiety?
We all know what it is like to be anxious: the way you can't sit at peace, the way you become scared to do things that you would not have thought twice about in the past. Fine if this happens only once in a while but when it is there more days than not; when it pushes itself into the centre of your life; when decisions are made on the basis of how your anxiety is that day then it is time to deal with it. Some of the common signs are:
- You can't relax.
- You are on edge all the time.
- You are snappy.
- You can't get over to sleep.
- You worry night and day.
- You go over things in your head again and again even though you don't want to.
- You try to switch off but can't.
- Your body reacts so easily headaches, rapid heart rate, tense muscles.
- You try to avoid going places or doing things that you think will make the anxiety worse.
- You are always waiting for the worst to happen.
- Your confidence is going down the tubes.
- This tires you out.
- You don't see an end to it.
Does this sound like you? If so, anxiety may be playing a part in your stress.
Anxiety is all about the present and the near future. It is a fear of how you are coping just now and a fear of what might happen to you. You feel you are losing control of coping with things you could cope with easily in the past.
We can break anxiety into three parts:
What you think
What goes through your mind when you are tense
What you do
How you act when you are tense
How your body reacts
Symptoms you get when you are tense
