Anxiety: Love or hate? Octavia Tsibes“I look beautiful today. Kind of, maybe not. Is this okay to wear? I’ll take it off, I look hideous anyway.”
Anxiety is a feeling of unease such as worry or fear that can either be mild or severe. Some people find it easy to control and some, well, they don’t. It’s more of a constant feeling - that voice in your head, to be exact. Many people suffer from it, many don’t even know that they battle with anxiety.
In fact, anxiety is a very normal response to stressful life events such as moving, changing jobs, exams or having financial troubles. Anxiety is a normal and healthy emotion. However, when a person regularly feels disproportionate levels of anxiety, it might be a medical disorder and if this begins to interfere with your life, it could be a sign of an anxiety disorder.
Since we’re fresh in June, I should probably acknowledge the fact that the month of May was Mental Awareness Month, and how many people, don’t take good care of their mental health, like they do with their bodies. When I say mental illness many people immediately associate it with being a sociopath or someone who is mentally unstable and needs to be restrained in a mental asylum, ASAP! That’s not the case; like any other organ in your body, the mind - your brain - gets sick too. It gets sick of the constant fear and doubt, which releases stress hormones on a regular basis and can increase frequent symptoms such as headaches, dizziness, and depression. Although a panic attack will not kill you, you should be aware that chronic anxiety and stress can have real and serious effects on your health and may eventually lead to life-threatening illnesses.
So, you might have a series of questions lined up on how one deals with these symptoms and how an individual knows when they have anxiety.
The symptoms include, excessive worrying, feeling agitated, restlessness, fatigue and difficulty to concentrate. That is just to name a few.
Identifying anxiety can be quite easy, such as when you experience shortness of breath, rapid heartbeat, excessive sweating and chest pain. The anxiety, worry or physical symptoms cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other areas of functioning. However, anxiety should never be mistaken for heart disease, diabetes or respiratory conditions, just to name a few.
There are different ways of calming your anxiety. Avoid caffeine; it is well known as an anxiety inducer. And we wouldn’t want it to worsen now, do we?
Avoid alcohol. I must’ve raised eyebrows and received a provoked glance, but avoiding alcohol reduces that feeling of depression; I mean, alcohol is a depressant.
Powering off your digital devices for a day helps as well, just to take a moment to detox from the digital world.
Going to the gym might not be your favorite option, but blowing off some steam can do wonders. It’ll give you a sense of calmness and rejuvenation, plus, who wouldn’t mind punching a bag for a few minutes. This works as a stress reliever as well.
Breathe in and out, it helps calm you down.
Follow the 3-3-3 rule. Look around you and name three things you see.
Write them down. For me, personally, writing down all my thoughts and feelings helps a lot and is quite therapeutic.
Talk to someone about it. Talking goes a long way, as speaking about it may make you feel a whole lot better.
Drink lots of water and find a mantra.
Living in a country, and an African country at that, growing up, anxiety was known as a ‘white person thing’, and as a black child, we’re not objectified to have anxiety, and it’s something we pick up from watching ‘too much television’ or mirroring our peers’. Anxiety or any other mental illness doesn’t discriminate; it has no special or favorite race or gender. Anxiety hits all of us. For some it can be a once in a lifetime occurrence, but for many, chronic. It is so important that we educate ourselves about these kind of things and break all barriers and stereotypes. We all have emotions, and at the end of the day, we’re human. It is human to feel every kind of emotion, and anxiety is one of them. To the majority battling with anxiety or any other kind of mental illness, you are not alone. You are loved. You are appreciated. You are acknowledged. You are brave, and most importantly, you are valued and you matter!