Anxiety is a type of discomfort that is as common as it is diverse. In fact, it is such a complex phenomenon that it mixes both sensations and disturbing thoughts, the contents of which depend both on the characteristics of the person who experiences it on their own skin, and on the context in which they find themselves.
So, In anxiety there are always a series of negative feelings mixed together that it is difficult to separate and analyze separately, objectively. Luckily, this does not mean that it is impossible to learn to deal with that kind of discomfort and prevent it from blocking us or making us enter a vicious cycle of anguish and stress.
Anxiety is a psychological and also psychological state, since It is reflected both in feelings and thoughts in general, on the one hand, and the state of activation of our body for the other.
In general, it predisposes us to interpret many of the things that happen around us as signs of danger, or warnings that we must be alert for what may happen. In fact, Sometimes, this happens even without us knowing very well what it is that we should be prepared for To act, I tell you before: we are simply overwhelmed by a feeling of restlessness and that things will go wrong if we do not make an effort to avoid it.
So, Typical symptoms of anxiety are tremors, sweating, sensitivity to light, dizziness, digestive problems and in general phenomena associated with the need to stay alert and highly activated to react quickly and avoid damage even greater than the discomfort we feel at that moment: there is a subjective experience of overload, that our nervous system is at its limit.
But while this happens in our body in general… what happens, specifically, in our stream of thoughts?
The vicious cycle of anxiety and negative feelings
Feelings are the way in which we interpret emotions, that is, our way of interpreting the fact that we are experiencing them. In the case of anxiety, it is combined with a series of negative feelings, and Both elements reinforce each other in a vicious circle
This mutual feedback between negative feelings and anxiety is reflected in two main phenomena.
pessimistic forecasts
When we are anxious, we have a tendency to generate pessimistic forecasts about what will happen, and this series of beliefs is in line with that need to stay alert, to have all our senses directed towards possible opportunities to avoid that which would harm us so as not to suffer all the bad things that we think will happen to us.
Psychological rumination
Rumination consists of the tendency to bring to our consciousness again and again, involuntarily, a series of disturbing thoughts or mental images, which make us feel bad and lead us to think about things that worry us, whether about what could happen in the future or what happened to us in the past (on many occasions, both times overlap and become indistinguishable for us).
As we see that no matter how much we try we are not able to get rid of those thoughts, That predisposes us more to be alert to try to prevent them from returning or to block them when they appear in our consciousness, which in turn makes us more vulnerable to their influence, given that we are alert and reinforcing our anxiety.
Tips to consider
Here are some key ideas about what you should do
1. Take care of your health
We are much more vulnerable to anxiety when we are not physically in good condition Therefore, the first step is to check that we are getting enough sleep, that we are eating well, that we are staying active, etc.
2. Don’t block thought, manage your attention
Much more effective than trying to block the negative feelings linked to anxiety is learn to accept that they are there and limit yourself to directing your focus of attention towards other aspects of your present. In this, Mindfulness exercises usually help and are easy to learn and practice.
3. Practice moderate exercise
It has been shown that regular practice of moderate aerobic exercise It makes us more resistant to discomfort due to anxiety and allows us to reorganize our thoughts, by offering us a series of very defined goals linked to sensations that stimulate us at all times through the movement of our body.
4. Go to therapy
If you think nothing is working for you and you still feel bad, go to psychotherapy.
Are you interested in going to psychotherapy against anxiety?
If you notice that you need help to manage anxiety because it gives you too many problems and you cannot control the situation, do not blame yourself: it happens to many people, and sometimes it is too difficult to overcome this type of disturbance without external support. Luckily, anxiety can be treated through a process of psychotherapy.
Therefore, in case you find yourself in a situation like this, I suggest you contact me ; I am a psychologist with more than 15 years of professional experience caring for patients, and helping people manage anxiety appropriately is very frequently part of my job.
My work is based above all on a combination of the tools and methodologies of cognitive-behavioral therapies and third generation therapies, psychological intervention models that have proven to be effective when it comes to the treatment of many emotional and behavioral problems. You can count on my help both in face-to-face therapy sessions at my center located in Madrid and through online therapy by video call. You will find my contact details on this page.
