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Anxiety
Anxiety is normal and everyone experiences it at some time i.e. exams, driving test, moving house, meeting new people. But anxiety can become a problem when it manifests into apprehension or a fear and a sense of 'losing control'.
That fear feels very real. It's often of a perceived event or situation, and causes a physical response which can be very frightening:-
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Sweating
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Heart racing
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Rapid breathing
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Feeling nauseous
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Lightheaded
A Panic Attack is a rush of these sensations which brings on a catastrophic interpretation of feelings.
When we become over-tired, physically, emotionally or mentally exhausted, anxiety can become a problem and start to interfere in our day-to-day lives. We then start to avoid triggers and compound the problem.
When we are anxious our body goes into a 'fight or flight' response. It is our basic survival response to fear. This served primitive man well when he was out hunting. Adrenaline, a hormone, rushes to our blood stream to enable us to fight or run away as a survival mechanism. But it was designed to be short-lived. Either we killed or were killed.
In today's busy, stressful lives when we feel tense and anxious the levels of stress-response hormones are activated more often and for longer so we stay in a state of 'fight or flight' response which is detrimental to our bodies and mind.
How can counselling help?
Talking can help identify the triggers that lead to feeling anxious or fearful. Exploring when and where the feelings originally came from can help. Learning a relaxation technique when the anxiety is triggered can give back the 'control' to the sufferer.