Causes and Management of Anxiety

Causes and Management of Anxiety

The psycho-dynamics of anxiety must first be understood before going to the causes. Some psychologists have described anxiety in general as an indirect and vague feeling that has no specific source or a fundamental cause. You may want to challenge this claim but the cause of anxiety the cause may be misunderstood or hidden.

Let us look at the specific tenuous mental states to which anxiety is related. There are 3 of them basically and is from them that emotional disturbances such as anxiety are derived.

1. Guilt.

Guilt naturally is the creator of psychic tension. It is the sense of personal wrongdoing that makes one deserve punishment. Guilt may be true, false, real, imaginary, moral or psychological. In either case, the psychic experience and tension are similar. When someone steals something, they may have a sense of guilt. However, imaginary or false guilt is the result of someone’s failure to meet the judgment or expectations of other people. Let us look at an example. Your child's peers may subject him to ridicule simply because he has not performed well in their sport's team, although your child has put in his best. This makes him feel like he he has failed or disappointed his friends. Therefore he feels guilty. This kind of guilt is unjustified because, morally, he should not be blamed for this offense. Some other secondary mental states that are often attributed to guilt are discouragement, depression, loneliness, despair, insecurity and so on.

2. Egoism.

This is another major tenuous mental state that may cause anxiety. If you suffer from egoism you are preoccupied with yourself and with your personal needs. Please note that anger is a common trait of an egoistic state of mind. There are 2 fundamental dimensions of egoism: superiority (or arrogance) and inferiority (or inadequacy). An arrogant person is compelled to obsessively strive to get personal attention and the praise or applause of others. His pride, exaggerated love of himself and his constant need for self-recognition usually make him judgmental, insensitive, and even merciless. We can see various examples in show business and professional sports. Jealousy, hostility, hatred, resentment, bitterness, and envy are some of the secondary mental states of arrogance or a superior disposition.

Inferiority or inadequacy, however, seems to be the more prevalent of the 2 dimensions in people who suffer from anxiety. Inferior disposition compels someone to be socially withdrawn from people or to feel intimidated around them. He may feel unloved, not worthy of personal recognition or even lack self-respect. He may also view himself as a total failure.

3. Fear.

This is third major tenuous mental state. However, it is not all fear that is malignant. We all need instinctive fear for our physical survival. Morbid fear is very harmful and can be recognized in a person who slavishly preoccupied with his own well-being and personal safety. A person, who has immoderate concern over maintaining or securing an admirable public image, reputation, material possession, good health and so on for himself, may produce morbid fear. Therefore, morbid fear in a person usually arises from his placing an exaggerated importance or value to such things like those that I just mentioned. Consequently, because his perception is overly distorted, the threat of damage or loss of those things may paralyze or even incapacitate him. For fear, the secondary mental states are insecurity, depression, panic, suspicion, and so on. Fear is also an important component of phobia, hysteria and paranoia.

Management of Anxiety.

Different schools of thought have been used to manage anxiety. Some therapists recommend some form of behavior modification like thought-stopping, relaxation training, modeling, and behavior rehearsal. Only some of these techniques have been proven to be helpful while behavior modification obviously has deficiency.

10 simple tips to manage your anxiety.

Whenever you feel anxious, use one or more of these strategies to help you cope with your anxiety:

1. Take a time-out.

Spend a few hours practicing yoga, listening to music or meditating. Apply a massage and other relaxation techniques. Step back from stress will help to clear your head.

2. Eat a well-balanced meal.

 Avoid skipping your meals. Take healthy and energy-boosting snacks when you have the need.

3. Help yourself by reducing caffeine and alcohol.

Doing this will help to prevent anxiety aggravation and panic attack triggering.

4. Get sufficient sleep.

When you are stressed, you body needs additional rest and sleep.

5. Exercise every day.

Doing this will help you feel and look healthy  maintain your health.

6. Do your best.

Stop trying or striving to be perfect. Perfection is not possible.

7. Accept and welcome humor.

 Welcome and enjoy humor. A good laugh will go a long way to help prevent anxiety.

8. Maintain a positive attitude.

Strive to eliminate negative thoughts and replace them with positive ones.

9. Get involved in volunteer work and be active in your community.

Find a way to be active in your community. You can volunteer, create a support network, etc. These will help you a break away from everyday stress.

10. Seek help from a therapist or a physician.

Talk to a therapist, a physician, friends or family about your feelings. Let them know you need their help.

I have listed above some simple tips that some people have found helpful. However, here is the best and simple management of anxiety that I have found to be most helpful:

When you first wake up each morning, just take out a few minutes to meditate for peace and tranquility, and not negative events that may not even come to reality, you will create a new life for yourself - a life filled with optimism. Fear, uncertainty and anxiousness will vanish.

When you create peace and tranquility in your life, and not the one filled with chaos and fear, anxiety will have no entry points in your body because tranquility and anxiety cannot live in the same space simultaneously.