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Contrary to what many people think, anxiety is not entirely bad. It's a natural process in our body that helped us greatly back in the cave days to deal with dangers that threatened our lives at that time. Anxiety was excellent at preventing us from being devoured by animals.
Anxiety is related to our survival instinct. It's a biological response that prepares the body to face fight or flight situations, and for this, muscles tense up, the heart beats faster, and hormones flood our brain.
Sometimes, the threat doesn't even need to be real for us to become anxious. This biological mechanism is also activated by what we think others think about us, meaning fear only needs to be perceived, it doesn't need to be real. It's in this scenario, combined with other factors from our life history and the phase we're living in, that anxiety can become destabilized.
With human evolution, our worries changed, but the body's response didn't. The same primitive system continues to exist. This means your body can respond to that problem at work the same way it would respond to a lion chasing you.
Still, this mechanism is important for our lives, as it adjusts not only our relationships of necessity with predators and prey, but also our relationships with other humans, whether for love, work, or other types of needs. For example, you might feel anxious when starting a new job or when working on a difficult project. This type of anxiety is unpleasant, but it can motivate you to try harder and do a better job.
Normal anxiety is a feeling that comes and goes, but it doesn't usually interfere with your routine. However, in the case of an anxiety disorder, the feeling of fear can be with you all the time, is intense, and sometimes debilitating. This type of anxiety can make you stop doing things you enjoy, and in extreme cases, can prevent you from entering an elevator, crossing the street, or even leaving your home. If left untreated, anxiety will continue to worsen.
Generalized anxiety is considered the ailment of the century, currently affecting about 18.6 million Brazilians, and it can look different depending on the person experiencing it. Feelings can range from butterflies in the stomach to a racing heart, and you may feel out of control, as if there's a disconnection between your mind and body.
Other ways people experience anxiety include nightmares, panic attacks, and painful thoughts or memories you cannot control. You may have a general feeling of fear and worry, or you may fear a specific place or event.
There are different types of anxiety, but their symptoms generally include:
- Increased heart rate
- Rapid breathing
- Restlessness
- Difficulty concentrating
- Difficulty falling asleep
- Constant distress/worry
Now when we talk about an anxiety attack, the symptoms are usually:
- Feeling weak or dizzy
- Shortness of breath
- Dry mouth
- Sweating
- Chills or hot flashes
- Restlessness
- Numbness or tingling
Insomnia X Anxiety, is there a connection?
Yes. And it's very common for one condition to trigger the other.
Mental health issues like insomnia and anxiety are the result of a range of factors that are out of balance, and these disorders have never been so frequent in the population as a whole.
A study conducted by Vigilantes do Sono, across 21 companies and involving 42,000 Brazilians throughout the country, identified that people with sleep problems are 180% more likely to have anxiety. In a program carried out with Grupo Fleury, the companies found that just by improving sleep, it was possible to improve anxiety and depression rates among their employees by more than 50%.
Throughout this journey, we will explore different tools (all very well supported scientifically) that will help you live with anxiety in a healthy and sustainable way.