Let’s Talk About Anxiety

General Anxiety disorder is characterized by excessive fear or apprehension about both real and perceived threats. It leads to altered behavior and physical symptoms that present themselves at sporadic times. Anxiety disorders are mental illnesses in which an ever-present feeling or string of thoughts disrupt a person’s daily life. In contrast, typical anxiety is less often felt and arises from a specific event.  The best way to understand the difference is that the former can last days and goes past the anticipated event whereas general anxiety begins and ends with a single event.

It is important to discuss anxiety in all of its rawness because it can be easily hidden. Those of us who suffer from anxiety have found ways to move through the world in a productive way with a mask of calm indifference. In fact, there have been long-standing misconceptions about anxiety and how people present themselves.

Anxiety is often mistaken to be a general fear or worry about a situation. But it is far more than this. It can feel irrational and uncontrollable. It seeps into the mind, sometimes unsolicited, and strikes at the heart of what matters to someone.  It becomes an active ball of energy that takes up space within the chest and spreads into the mind. It can feel like being trapped within your body and you are vibrating with the need to escape, but you cannot run from yourself. It can feel like you need to run from something that isn’t there, toward a goal that isn’t set, and that time is running out and you just can’t catch up.

Recognizing Anxiety

It is important to understand that anxiety is not only worrying about an event. Instead, it is the worry that happens long before an event, during the event, and persists after the completion of the event. It does not just come as you might expect it. In fact, it is random or even persistent. When my anxiety is at its worst, it is an ever-present energy within me that lasts throughout the day. It cannot be eased quickly, in fact, it takes conscious effort to make it go away or to ignore it. But it feels like I am in a race all day and that I am falling behind.

You can identify anxiety separately from nervousness because it lasts long before and long after an event occurs. It can be triggered by something specific (large crowds, a big test, trying something new) and prompts the belief that you cannot handle the situation.

High-Functioning Anxiety

Many people suffering from anxiety shut down with overwhelming and oppressive worry. This is a general anxiety disorder and can be better detected by other people as plans are canceled, isolation occurs, and panic ensues.

On the other side of the spectrum lies High-Functioning Anxiety. This type of anxiety propels a person to be productive, get a lot done, and not rest until the anxiety is eased. This is less recognizable as we live in a culture that praises and values hard work and hustle. It is even more difficult to identify this anxiety within ourselves as we believe this worry is what propels others to success. Yet, it still causes suffering and limits our ability to be present and peaceful in life.

The act of “doing” and working is a way for someone with High-Functioning Anxiety is a way to gain control. It is taking action with the belief that it will mitigate the anxiety and you will feel better once you have succeeded. However, it just perpetuates the anxiety the next time you are triggered or if you feel you have not done enough.

Coping Skills for Anxiety

When swept into the tide of anxiety, we feel ungrounded and out of control. The key to coping with anxiety is not to suppress or push it down; this only saves it for another day. We also do not want it to continue its cycle of pain inflicted on our minds and bodies. Instead, we work to interrupt it and ground ourselves in the present.