Anxiety

Physical Symptoms

It’s typical to feel anxiety physically because emotions are connected to the body. When anxious, the body’s Fight Or Flight Response kicks in. The physical changes to our body happen because our body is preparing to run and fight. 

To run or fight, our muscles have to be ready to move. That’s why you’ll notice feeling tense in your body when you’re anxious. Your muscles are tight and staying ready to explode with energy whenever needed. Most people notice this tension in their neck and shoulders. But it’s also happening in your arms and legs too.

Our muscles need fuel to work. We fuel our muscles with oxygen from blood. To support how hard our muscles are working we need short, quick breaths. That’s why you’ll notice your breathing becoming shorter. That’s also why you’ll notice your heart beating harder and faster. This is your body working extra hard to make sure your muscles are ready to protect you. 

Lastly, in these dangerous situations, blood only goes to where it’s most needed. So while the blood is going to our muscles, it’s leaving our stomach. Our body knows that it’s not about to sit down, eat, and relax. So when the blood leaves your stomach to support your muscles, you’re left with that stomach-dropping, butterflies-in-the-stomach feeling.  

These physical symptoms have lots of benefits when we’re actually in danger. But if we’re not, then our body will get uncomfortable and tired. That’s why it is important to teach your body how it can relax when it’s on edge. Being mindful of your body will help you learn about your mood. 

Cognitive Symptoms 

Our mood changes how we feel in our body and our mind. When we’re anxious, there are changes that happen in our brain as well. One of the biggest changes we see is related to worrying. Anxiety makes us much more worried. Our thoughts start to revolve around our worries. It can be hard to think of anything else. It's common to feel as though these thoughts are uncontrollable or overwhelming too. 

It’s also common for the movement of our thoughts to change. When we are relaxed and calm, thoughts float by gently and smoothly. They tend to enter our mind and easily exit our mind like leaves on a stream. That changes with anxiety. Sometimes, our thoughts are like cars racing on the highway. Going 100 miles per hour. It feels hard to slow them down and notice them. Those racing thoughts make our brain feel full. It can be hard to settle down when our thoughts are racing. 

Other times, we can be left with one or two sticky thoughts. That’s when there seems to be only one thing we can think about. No matter what we try, we can’t stop thinking about that one thought. Whether it’s racing thoughts or rumination, our thoughts usually change when we’re anxious. 

As you can imagine, it is hard to go about your everyday life when your brain is working so hard. That’s why many people with anxiety are easily distracted. Trouble concentrating and being distracted is a very common experience. Anxiety causes us to have a much harder time focusing. This is because our brain may be distracted with worries. It is also using a lot of energy to deal with “danger.” For those reasons, people with anxiety often have trouble concentrating or find themselves easily distracted. There can be many reasons to be easily distracted, though, so consult a professional to help you better understand your distractibility. 

Anxiety and panic can feel really similar! It’s normal to say we’re having a panic attack when we’re feeling anxious. So let’s take a look at three common symptoms of panic attacks. As you’ll see, panic attacks are much more intense and sudden than general anxiety. 

Overall, panic is an overwhelming feeling of fear and loss of control. There are intense physical changes that can feel like a scary health condition suddenly taking over. Importantly, you are physically safe when having a panic attack. Even though it doesn’t feel like it. Coping skills and therapy can be very helpful at quickly reducing the intensity and frequency of panic attacks. 

Trouble Breathing

Panic attacks cause intense physical symptoms. They can feel like something awful and scary is happening to the body. One frightening symptom is trouble breathing. During a panic attack, breathing becomes short and quick. The loss of slow, steady breaths is common. Instead of being able to fill the lungs fully, the breath gets stuck in the chest. Sometimes, the breath can even get stuck in the throat. Because our lungs are not filled with air, it seems as though we cannot breathe. This feeling can become more intense if the neck begins to tighten - another common experience of panic attacks. Even though it feels like we can’t breathe and we might even pass out, we will not. We are still getting enough oxygen and we will not pass out because of the constriction of our body during a panic attack. Once the body takes a few deep breaths, breathing will begin to return to normal. 

Chest Pain

Another scary symptom of panic attacks can be chest pain. This symptom is very worrisome to people because it feels like a heart attack. During panic attacks, all muscles can feel tight. However, a unique symptom of panic attacks is chest tightness and chest pain. As the chest tightens, it can begin to feel painful. Unable to relieve pressure in the chest can increase feelings of fear and panic as the fear of physical danger rises. This can be compounded by another symptom - heart palpitations. While the heart beats faster when a person is afraid or anxious, heart palpitations feel even more intense. The heart feels like it is racing and pounding. Sometimes it can feel like it skips a beat. The intensity of the heart beating combined with a tight chest is what causes heart attack feelings. Once again, though, the body is NOT in danger. You are safe. A panic attack CANNOT cause heart failure. Once muscles relax and the heart has a chance to slow down, the feeling of panic will quickly reduce. If you experience panic attacks with heart palpitations/chest tightness AND you have a diagnosed heart condition, please speak with a medical doctor to answer any questions you may have.  

Feeling of Dying 

The symptoms we’ve talked about can make us feel overwhelmed and scared. For that reason, it is very common to feel like a tidal wave of panic is drowning you. The sense of feeling totally out of control is also a common symptom of panic attacks. That feeling can get stronger until we feel like danger is approaching. Sometimes it feels like an impending doom that we couldn’t possibly stop. Ultimately, that feeling can become a fear that we are dying or will die. This is because we are experiencing the type of fear response that only comes when we are in serious danger. We may also be thinking our body is failing us. During those intense moments, it feels like death is imminent. Once again, even though it doesn’t feel like it, you are completely safe. Your body is safe and there is no danger, doom, or death coming. Once your body is able to reset, those feelings will also reset. 

As seen, panic attacks can feel scary. The intensity of panic attacks is what makes them feel different from typical anxiety. If you think you may be experiencing panic attacks, schedule an appointment right away. Therapy is very helpful in  quickly reducing symptoms and frequency of panic attacks. 

Coping skills work great for anxiety! Anxiety is our smoke detector that goes off every single time we cook something. That makes it really hard to make food. So we need to adjust our smoke detector to only go off when there is real danger. We can do that through coping skills. So, try these coping skills next time you feel anxious or are having a panic attack. If you have tried these skills and are still struggling, then it might be time to work with a psychologist to get to the root of your anxiety. 

Mindfulness of Breath

Practicing mindfulness of your breath is an excellent place to start if you are new to mindfulness. This practice is designed to help us focus our attention on how our bodies are feeling in the present moment and give our minds a rest from thinking so hard. Slowing our breathing down also helps to quiet the fight-or-flight system, allowing us to relax. 

You can practice mindful breathing for as much or as little time as you like. Going through the steps outlined below might take you about 5 minutes, depending on how long you spend going through each step. 

1. Get into your mindful position: Sit or lay down with your eyes closed or resting on something in the room that will not be too distracting.
2. Focus on the tip of your nose and each time you breathe in, follow your breath as it goes in through your nose, down into your lungs and back out again. You do not need to take deep breaths or try to slow your breathing. Just let your breath come and go at its natural rhythm. Keep doing this for as long as you would like before going on to the next step.
3. Place one hand over your belly button. Place your other hand on your chest, just underneath your collarbone. Continue to breathe at a natural pace. Pay attention to whether you are breathing from your chest or your belly - you might feel the difference in your hands or even open your eyes to watch which hand is moving. Keep doing this for as long as you would like before going on to the next step.
4. Try to change how your breath moves in your body.
   1. First, try to move the hand on your chest as much as you can, using only your breath. Do this for a few breaths. You might need to take deeper breaths to do this.
   2. Next, try to move the hand on your belly as much as you can, using only your breath. Do this for a few breaths. You might need to take deeper and slower breaths to do this.
   3. Finally, combine the two. Each time you breathe in, try to move both hands as much as you can, using only your breath. Keep doing this for as long as you would like before going on to the next step.
5. Relax your hands back in your lap and let your breath come back to a normal pace. Pay attention to any changes that you notice in your breathing from when you started. When you are ready, you can open your eyes and end the practice.

Options to add to this practice:

• To help follow the flow of the breath, some people like to imagine that there is a ping pong ball moving up and down their bodies with their breath. Other people like to imagine that their bodies are inflating and deflating like a balloon with their breath.
• To help the practice feel even more relaxing, some people like to think of the word “Relax” or “Calm” while breathing in and out.

Progressive Muscle Relaxation

Progressive Muscle Relaxation is a great way to build on the Mindfulness of Breath practice above. This practice is also designed to help us focus our attention on how our bodies are feeling in the present moment and give our minds a rest from thinking so hard. In addition to helping us focus on the flow of our breathing, this practice helps us pay attention to the muscle groups all throughout our bodies. 

By tensing our muscles, we are able to use the energy that may have built up from feeling angry or anxious in a way that will not cause us more problems. By releasing our muscles, we are teaching the muscles how to rest again. If you have an injury that might be hurt by tensing or releasing those muscles, you can still do this practice - just skip that particular step.

You can practice Progressive Muscle Relaxation for as much or as little time as you like. Going through the steps outlined below might take you about 5 minutes, depending on how long you spend going through each step. 

1. Get into your mindful position: Sit or lay down with your eyes closed or resting on something in the room that will not be too distracting.
2. Focus on the tip of your nose and each time you breathe in, follow your breath as it goes in through your nose, down into your lungs and back out again.
3. Gradually, focus on breathing from the belly, taking somewhat deeper and slower breaths. Keep doing this for as long as you would like before going on to the next step.
4. With each breath in, tense a particular group of muscles. With each breath out, relax all of that tension. Pause after each time you relax to feel any changes in sensation. Complete this process with each muscle group twice before moving on to the next step.
   1. Hands and wrists: Make fists with both hands and curl your wrists.
   2. Arms: Make fists with both hands, curl your wrists, flex your forearms and upper arms, and bend your elbows so that your fists come up to meet your shoulders.
   3. Shoulders: Pull both of your shoulders up towards your ears and hunch slightly forward.
   4. Face: Scrunch your eyebrows and forehead, squeeze your eyes closed, scrunch your nose, press your lips together, and clench your jaw.
   5. Back: Arch your back, bringing your shoulder blades close together.
   6. Stomach: Tense muscles in your core and hold them in tightly.
   7. Seat: Squeeze buttocks together tightly.
   8. Upper legs: Push your legs out and tense your thighs.
   9. Lower legs: Push your legs out, point your toes down, and curl your toes.
5. Let your breath come back to a normal pace. Notice if there is any part of your body that still feels tense. Tense and release those muscles using your breath. If you don’t feel any tension, pay attention to how that feels. When you are ready, you can open your eyes and end the practice.

Leaves on a Stream 

Leaves on a Stream is a strategy for practicing mindfulness of our thoughts. We do this by using imagery to help ourselves step back from the thoughts going through our minds. This practice helps us to see what we are thinking about without getting stuck thinking about them on repeat or trying to push them away. 

You can practice Leaves on a Stream for as much or as little time as you like. Going through the steps outlined below might take you about 5 minutes, depending on how long you spend going through each step. 

1. Get into your mindful position: Sit or lay down with your eyes closed or resting on something in the room that will not be too distracting.
2. Focus on the tip of your nose and each time you breathe in, follow your breath as it goes in through your nose, down into your lungs and back out again.
3. Imagine that you are sitting on the bank of a stream. Take your time and make this mental image as clear as you can. It might be easier for you to picture a place you have been before or to imagine a place that is totally new.
4. Imagine that there are trees on the banks of the stream. As their leaves fall, they float on the surface of the water, moving downstream until they are out of your sight.
5. Each time a thought enters your mind, try to take that thought and place it on a leaf floating past you. Let it float down the stream and out of sight. Each time a new thought comes into your mind, place it on a new leaf and continue just watching as the thoughts come into your mind and leave again.
6. Bring your attention back to your breath. Let the image of your stream fade away and focus again on the tip of your nose and the movement of your

Anxiety treatment at Singh Psychology is understood by looking at our relationships. Our relationship with others, our relationship with ourselves, and our relationship with our emotions. The pattern of our relationships and emotions tells a story that explains why we usually feel anxious.

Anxiety

Anxiety is the alarm bell that tells us something is wrong or that there is danger. In that way, anxiety is really important to our survival. Without anxiety, we wouldn’t be as good at keeping ourselves safe. Our anxiety is also great at finding clues that COULD lead to danger. For example, if we’re afraid of tigers, we’ll start to feel scared when we see a giant orange cat. Even if it’s not next to us and we’re not in immediate danger. That’s helpful. If we’re ANXIOUS about running into a tiger, we’ll start to notice other signals that a tiger could be nearby. We could hear leaves rustling or a twig snapping and be scared that it’s a tiger. Neither of those things are tigers, though. So now it’ll be harder to relax in everyday life when we hear leaves. 

Our body doesn’t tell the difference between physical danger and emotional danger or relationship danger. We react the same to all kinds of danger by trying to get out of danger. In that way, anxiety is a great signal that we are near danger. Thus, we need to protect ourselves. 

Defenses

To protect ourselves, we put up defenses. That alarm bell that goes off (anxiety) tells the castle to raise the drawbridge and prepare all the defenses because it’s under attack. Everybody has unique ways of defending themselves from danger. The best way we know to defend ourselves is by getting away from the problem somehow. Just like with that tiger, we’re probably going to run away. And if it’s emotional danger or relationship danger, we’re going to get away too.

You probably get away or avoid the problem by distracting yourself. Playing music, watching your favorite anime, eating a delicious snack, avoiding the topic, making hilarious jokes…These are all great ways to avoid the emotional/relationship danger and defend ourselves. 

Like every good castle wall, this keeps you safe inside. That’s super helpful. That castle wall also keeps other people out. By putting up walls (defenses), we aren’t being vulnerable. This keeps people or fun activities at arm’s distance. We can’t form deep, emotional connections with people that we care about. We also can’t take risks to do something we might enjoy or we want to do. We’re too scared to let down our defenses to let someone/something through the walls. That’s a tricky spot. We simultaneously want to be close with people and try new experiences, but we’re scared to be vulnerable. So what do we do? 

Using emotions as strengths

Emotions are essential to us human beings. Emotions are the only way that we can build deep, meaningful relationships with others. We feel closer and more connected to people when they are vulnerable with us. Being vulnerable does not just mean sharing about your experiences, it means sharing how you feel during those experiences. It’s the difference between sharing that you had a bad day at work, and sharing that Zola made you feel rejected and now you’re annoyed and disappointed. It’s the difference between “I feel LIKE things never go my way” and “I FEEL hopeless.” 

Emotions are also essential because they’re the only way we can process our experiences, get closure, and move forward. We’re always feeling something. If we avoid it, it sticks with us. It’s like if we were on a hike and we came across a rock that’s in our way. We could throw it behind us and keep moving. And we can do that to every rock we see. What we don’t realize is that our backpack is open and it’s catching those rocks. At first, it’s not a big deal, but eventually our backpack gets heavier and heavier until it makes the hike really hard. When we feel our emotions, that lets us empty our backpack. We feel lighter and can move forward easier than ever. So the way to manage our anxiety is to feel the emotions we have been defending ourselves from feeling.  

Emotions under the surface 

So now we know that we’re anxious because there are feelings that we aren’t letting ourselves feel. And if we feel them, we won’t feel anxious anymore. But what feelings are you supposed to feel? And how?? 

To start, we must learn about your fear. As you now know, your anxiety is telling you that you are afraid of something. It may be dogs, flying, heights, being overwhelmed, or getting rejected. We must connect you with that emotion by helping you listen to the clues. The clues are your thoughts and body. They tell you what you’re feeling. By putting the pieces together, you will start feeling your emotions more fully. You’ll cope with your fear, and feel confident that feeling afraid won’t overwhelm you! 

You’re probably thinking that we’ve cured your anxiety. And in a way we have! But now we can get to the real root of the anxiety - what you were actually shielding yourself from. The feelings that have been hiding under the surface for a long time. Using the same skills, we’ll introduce you to your other emotions. It might be disappointment, sadness, rejection, loneliness, irritation, annoyance, rage, fear, hopelessness, shame, or something else. Once you’ve integrated all of your emotional experience, you’ll process those emotions, and bring closure to whatever story was left unfinished!