Anxiety is an apprehensive inner experience of intense feelings and thoughts.
There are times when a feeling of concern may arise. The concern is focused on the future. We call this worry. Worry is about a future outcome. Worry is anticipatory.
When we habitually keep our thoughts on a situation that has happened or could happen, and we feel apprehensive, concerned, or fearful about the situation, we are anxious.
Occasionally, anxiety becomes excessive even obsessive, and begins to disturb our life. It may affect our relationships, work, sleep, and leisure time.
People may experience anxiety issues in different ways. Panic, phobia, chronic worry, obsessive-compulsive, and generalized anxiety are all types of anxiety, and each is amendable to treatment.
Anxiety can be distinguished from fear. Fear is focused externally on a specific situation or object. Usually, the feared situation or object are within the bounds of reality. Anxiety is more internal, and feels vague and intangible. You may have a sense of losing control or a vague sense of dread. Anxiety affects your body, your mind, and your behavior.
Anxiety is a complex interaction between your particular brain and body, your thoughts and feelings, and the environmental factors present.
I encourage you to fully understand how anxiety works.
HOW DOES TREATMENT FOR ANXIETY WORK?
The good news, anxiety is very treatable, and most people are able to incorporate treatment strategies into their lives. I use extensively validated questionnaires and a thorough oral history, to focus in on the specifics of the person’s complaints. Working together, we develop a set of achievable goals.
Several strategies may be utilized depending on what you are experiencing. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is the model of choice for all types of anxiety. For more information on CBT, go to ‘What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?’ on this Blog. Because anxiety affects how we think, identifying our internal self-talk is vital. Learning about the ways people perpetuate anxiety, and changing our behavior, is another. Developing strategies and practices with a focus on internal balance is a third. Each person’s treatment plan will be specific to them.