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Feeling anxious from time to time doesn't necessarily mean you have an anxiety disorder. You can judge which one you are in the following ways.
You might be thinking, "I'm feeling anxious, does that mean I have mental health issues?" ”
Professor Rong Xinqi, an expert in the psychology of new concepts, believes that the answer is "it depends on the situation". Anxiety disorders are not uncommon, but it's also important to remember that "anxiety is a natural and universal human response."
Are anxiety and anxiety disorders the same?
Simply put, anxiety is a "threat response." Anxiety and anxiety disorders refer to the same set of mental and physical experiences characterized by: stress, worry, nervousness, and alertness.
People may use the word "anxiety" more often to refer to an anxiety disorder that transcends typical anxiety.
Anxiety can be useful to us, even if it's not pleasant to experience. When your anxiety response works as expected, it can help you predict harmful events and activate the fight, flight, or freeze response, which is your built-in survival mechanism.
While most people feel anxious at some point in their lives, even fewer people suffer from anxiety disorders.
A 2016 study linked anxiety to uncertain or vague threats (e.g., not knowing if you'd be accepted or rejected for a job) rather than to obvious threats (e.g., being chased by an angry dog).
When does anxiety become a psychological problem?
When your natural anxiety response seems to be constantly stimulating, or heavily impacting, your daily life, it may mean that you are experiencing an anxiety disorder (which has evolved into a psychological problem).
While recurring anxiety can ebb and flow according to what most people think is stressful, anxiety disorders mean that you make disproportionate stress responses to more events in your daily life.
If you suffer from anxiety disorders, you may find that anxiety can make you worry about things in your daily life that don't seem to affect other people much.
Having an anxiety disorder also means that you have to meet criteria for a specific diagnosis, such as:
Generalized anxiety disorder;
Social anxiety disorder;
Separation anxiety disorder;
Panic disorder;
Specific phobias;
Agoraphobia, etc.
Anxiety disorders may also be part of the learning response you develop over time. Some researchers note that anxiety disorders are often based on core beliefs of unhelpfulness or maladaptation.
How to manage anxiety?
Whether you want to control your natural anxiety response or control your anxiety disorder, you have plenty of options to choose from.
1. Relaxation techniques
When you feel anxious, you can use most relaxation techniques at home or almost anywhere else to quickly restore calm.
Multiple studies in 2017 showed that relaxation techniques can be just as effective as cognitive behavioral therapy when it comes to treating certain anxiety disorders (but not others).
You may benefit from trying these relaxation methods to control anxiety:
Mindful breathing can help slow down breathing and heart rate and make you feel calmer.
Meditation can help you regulate your mood and reduce anxiety symptoms.
Some argue that visualization involves focusing on positive imagery and emotions to bring about a relaxed state, which may help.
Progressive muscle relaxation, focusing your attention on one part of the body at a time, encourages you to practice tension and release stress from these areas.
Yoga to relieve anxiety, which combines physical activity with a relaxed mental state, helps people control anxiety and anxiety disorders.
2. Self-care
Whether you have an anxiety disorder or happen to be experiencing a period of high anxiety, it's important to pay special attention to your self-care habits.
Some key habits to check include:
Nutrition. When you're trying to control your anxiety, certain foods, such as green tea and dark chocolate, may be more helpful than others.
Exercise. Increasing your exercise for your day in some form, whether through walking, fitness, or dancing or yoga, is a science-based way to reduce stress and anxiety.
Fun and free time. Setting aside some time to focus on activities that bring you joy or make you happy can make the feeling of anxiety eruptions easier to control.
Sleep. Anxiety can lead to insomnia, but sleep deprivation can also exacerbate anxiety. Therefore, managing your sleep problems well is an effective way to manage anxiety.
3. Psychotherapy
Seeking help from a professional, trusted counselor can be effective in helping you relieve anxiety and anxiety disorders. Psychotherapy can provide support and help if you wish:
Manage challenging emotions during life phases that trigger anxiety;
Find out if you have an anxiety disorder;
Develop skills to manage and reduce symptoms of anxiety disorders, etc.
4. Medication
If you suffer from an anxiety disorder, your attending physician or psychiatrist may prescribe anti-anxiety medications in your treatment plan, and the type of medication you take will vary depending on your specific symptoms and what happens at the same time.
Using medications to treat anxiety disorders is often accompanied by a few trials and errors — so even if the first medication you try doesn't work, your doctor may suggest another one that will work.
Whether it's a natural anxiety response or an anxiety disorder that reaches the level of illness, they can make people uncomfortable. But no matter what form of anxiety you experience, you can find the right way to help you deal with it.