How to beat anxiety, when you can not "just calm down"

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According to the National Institute of Mental Health, there are several types of anxiety disorders. One of the most common - general anxiety disorder. He is characterized by constant excessive anxiety, tension and fear, which do not depend on external factors and may be accompanied by physical manifestations such as "nervous stomach", shortness of breath and palpitations palpitations.

Anxiety disorder is characterized by stress. Stress - this is a typical reaction to external pressure or threat. This is normal. Anxiety, on the other hand, is an abnormal reaction, when the fear of causing the usual things like social interaction, paying bills or going to work.

During anxiety attacks are activated parts of the brain responsible for the reaction of "fight or flight", and you can not stop it at will. Such a condition does not allow you to make decisions, even the most simple questions and creates a lot of problems.

But how to determine whether there is an anxiety disorder, or a person subject to other mental illnesses, such as depression?

Anxiety does not come alone, and it is difficult to detect

Anxiety is often mistaken for something else. For example, a person comes to partyWhere one does not know, he had poor experiences with strangers, And even more so in the noisy company. He begins to hesitate, and anxiety takes possession of him so that he can not say a word, not to mention the fact, to get acquainted with someone and to start a conversation.

After leaving the party, which turned to him into a real torture, he might think that behaved closed due to depression. But if he was not indifferent to these people, and he would be happy to talk to them, laugh and dance, but just could not because of fearTherefore, no depression, he has not.

After all, the desire to have fun and socialize, he had, but it's not allowed to social anxiety. It was because of her he had spent the entire party in the corner of the room, hiding behind the glass.

Of course, one may be a consequence of the other. For example, if a person is immersed in depression and because of it breaks all social ties. When the depression would leave him, he seems to be "unlearn" to communicate with people. The long absence of social interactions can cause anxiety in their resumption.

Generally, mental health problemsUnlike somatic rarely come singly. When you have a cold, you know exactly what the symptoms are and how to use them fight. But anxiety disorders can manifest in and of themselves, and as part of other diseases.

As noted in the Association of the syndrome of anxiety and depression in the US, anxiety disorders are usually observed together with a variety of mental disorders, including eating disorders, sleep disorders, Depressive disorders, chronic pain, and prolonged stress.

You can not "just calm down", but can be trained in this

If you suffer from an anxiety disorder, your favorite word was probably "calm down." But the fact that you can not just take it easy.

If a healthy person needs only to inhale deeply, count to ten and think about something else, a person with an anxiety disorder such action clearly will not be enough.

However, the relaxation of the principle remains the same. As explained in the Online help for mental disorders HelpGuide, Anxiety triggers the "fight or flight", even when it is absolutely do not need. Result - heart palpitations, shortness of breath, tension in the muscles. After a while it can be your normal state.

relaxation practices will help your body take control anxiety attacks. HelpGuide recommends addressing meditationLearn to breathe deeply and relax.

Note the word - "practice". This is what you should be doing every day, regardless of whether you have anxiety attack or not. Practicing relaxation, you accustom the brain to such a state, and when you need to relax, it will not be something new and unfamiliar to him.

Part of the problem is an anxiety disorder that you can not to relaxBecause it seems unnatural. The more you practice your relaxation, the more natural it becomes this state.

And when someone once again will tell you: "Take it easy" - you will understand that this was the panic, and be able to deal with this condition. Of course, just count to ten and calm down you are unlikely to succeed, but you can, for example, to eliminate sources Anxiety: leave the place where the panic attack begins, and then prepared to go back and relaxed.

We need a plan to deal with attacks

According to HelpGuide site, difficult period of panic attack lasts about 10 minutes, sometimes up to 30 minutes. Some people in the difficult period of attacks start to choke, for others it is felt as a sudden stress. In any case, it takes place, you just have to wait.

This is what will help you deal with bouts of anxiety:

1. Take a break. If you feel an increasing anxiety, try to stop what's causing it. For example, if you feel anxiety during stressful conversation, ask interlocutor interrupted for a short time and continue later. Do not continue picks with family and friends, while anxiety will not leave you. If panic overtook you while driving, stop. In general, if the situation can be controlled, immediately remove the cause of the alarm.
2. Protect yourself from stressful stimuli. Find out what is causing your anxiety and try to protect themselves from it. For example, if anxiety is increased in noisy environments, forget about the concerts and club parties or just go with them to stay in silence and tranquility alone or with a friend who will support you.
3. Concentrate on something else. This may be difficult because of anxiety attacks do not allow you to drive away bad thoughts. But it is an excellent practice. Eliminate irritants, find a quiet place and think about something extraneous, distracting themselves. If you can cope with your thoughts, physical manifestations of anxiety, too, will calm down.
4. let out. Shout. Weep. Arrange a loud tantrum. Sometimes when anxiety exceeds the limit, the only thing left - to give all the feelings escape. Tantrum does not last long, your body will be tired, and the heat of the passions subside. But remember: this method is not suitable for all situations. For example, it should not be used if you find it hard to breathe, or if you are in a crowded place.

And most importantly - do not blame yourself for the anxiety attacks. They are as natural for a person with an anxiety disorder, sneezing for a person with common cold.

Yes, you do not want repeated attacks, but do not hate myself for it. It is hoped that people from your environment will understand the disorder and provide you with space to recover.

The problem (not always) in others

Sometimes it seems that other people can solve the problem of anxiety. For example, that accompanied a good friend you can safely go to the noisy festival: the friendly support will help you avoid anxiety attacks.

Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Moreover, your friend can not support you when to begin an attack of anxiety and provide you himself or to send you to a quiet and peaceful place, and continue to communicate and be entertained with all.

In this situation, you may feel that you betrayed and abandoned, you will not have helped. In fact, your friend is not to blame for your panic attacks (especially if he does not know about them), and if you accuse him of betrayal, it's just spoil your relationship.

Blame someone is always easier than to take responsibility for their actions. And when you have an attack of anxiety, it is very difficult make informed decisionsSo you just throw off the responsibility for your feelings to other people.

Yes, sometimes people may bring you. For example, you awesome work or else, by communicating with that disorder more than pleasure. From it is possible and necessary to get rid of such sources of constant stress, but do it better in the time when anxiety leave you.

As often as possible to think about how you can help yourself. The more you invest in your well-being and a sense of calm, the easier it will be to cope with a bout of anxiety when it will happen the next time.

And as you struggle with anxiety and worry?