What is anxiety? — Treatment of feelings of anxiety and fear —. Regular attacks of causeless panic provoke

Anxiety is a feeling that makes you worry, feel tension in your body, bite your lip and rub your palms.

The mind is in tense anticipation of something dangerous, unpleasant, bad, but it cannot always identify what exactly, and moreover, we cannot always realize our deep-seated anxiety if it has become chronic.

We will analyze the nature of causeless fear and anxiety, and also recommend effective techniques with which you can remove anxiety and fear without medical help..

What is anxiety and anxiety?

Anxiety is an emotional state caused by nervous anticipation of what may happen in the near or distant future. It can have either a definite object (anxiety before meeting someone, anxiety before a long journey), or it can be vague, a kind of bad feeling. This feeling is closely related to the instinct of self-preservation, and often manifests itself in stressful, shock, or simply unusual situations.

It's normal to feel a vague feeling of anxiety when being in an unfamiliar area of ​​the city at night, or walking past a crowd of drunk people. It’s a completely different matter when anxiety bothers you even in a state of complete safety and stability.

Anxiety is accumulated tension in the body, psyche and consciousness. People can experience nervous tension non-stop, for no apparent reason, which greatly slows down their daily activities and prevents them from sensibly weighing their own actions and their consequences.

Feelings of anxiety and restlessness in psychology

Feelings of anxiety include a whole range of emotions:

• fear;
• shame;
• shyness;
• complex.

In general, anxiety occurs when there is a feeling of threat or a lack of feeling of comfort and safety. If the situation is not changed in time, it will develop into a chronic anxiety disorder.

Fear and anxiety - what's the difference?

Attacks of fear and anxiety are similar in many ways, however, again, their difference is significant and lies in the lack of specifics. Unlike fear, which often has a specific object, anxiety can be unidentified and causeless.

Common symptoms of anxiety

According to medical statistics, anxiety for no reason is common to more than 90% of teenagers and more than 70% of people aged 20 years and older. This condition is characterized by the following symptoms:

• feeling of defenselessness, helplessness;
• inexplicable panic before an upcoming event;
• unreasonable fear for your own life or the lives of loved ones;
• perception of standard social functions as an inevitable collision with a hostile or judgmental attitude;
• apathetic, depressed or depressed mood;
• inability to concentrate on current affairs due to obsessive anxious thoughts;
• critical attitude towards oneself, devaluation of one’s own achievements;
• constant “replaying” of situations from the past in the head;
• searching for “hidden meaning” in the words of the interlocutor;
• pessimism.

Physical manifestations of anxiety syndrome include:

• slow heart rate;
• weakness and fatigue;
• feeling of a “lump in the throat” as before crying;
• skin redness;
• problems with the gastrointestinal tract.

And internal anxiety is quite clearly visible in behavior:

• lip biting;
• scratching or wringing of hands;
• snapping fingers;
• adjusting glasses or clothing;
• hair straightening

How to distinguish normality from pathology?

The norm is anxiety caused by external factors or a person’s character. Autonomic symptoms such as rapid heartbeat do not appear in any way. Pathological increased anxiety accompanies a person, regardless of the reasons, and affects his physical condition.

What can increased anxiety lead to?

Anxiety and restlessness for no reason can lead to behavioral disturbances and loss of social skills, for example:

• Tendency to exaggeration and fantasy. This technique is often used in horror films. We become doubly scared if we don’t see a creature making frightening sounds. The imagination imagines a monster, although in fact it could be an ordinary mouse. Also in the case of causeless anxiety: the brain, having no specific reasons to feel fear, begins to complement the picture of the world itself.
• Aggression as a defensive reaction. A frequent companion of social anxiety. A person expects that the people around him will judge, oppress or humiliate, and as a result he himself shows anger and wariness, trying to maintain his self-esteem.
• Apathy. Lack of initiative, depression and the inability to concentrate on important matters often accompany individuals suffering from anxiety for no reason.
• Psychosomatics. Stress often finds its way out in the form of physical illnesses. With anxiety, problems with the heart, nervous system and gastrointestinal tract are common. I recommend an article about.

Causes of anxiety in adults

Despite the fact that a person experiences seemingly causeless fear and anxiety, the illness always has a prerequisite. She may become:

• Genetic predisposition. A child of phlegmatic or melancholic parents is likely to inherit this feature of neurochemical processes.
• Features of the social environment. Anxiety is characteristic of a person who in childhood experienced a lot of pressure from parents or, on the contrary, was taken care of and did not have the opportunity to make decisions independently. Adults who were outcasts or targets of bullying in childhood also experience unconscious anxiety before going out into the world.
• Fear of losing life. It could be an accident, an attack, a fall from a height - a traumatic experience is fixed in a person’s subconscious and emerges in the form of déjà vu, when what happens is somehow reminiscent of events from the past.
• Being in a state of stress non-stop. Working in emergency mode, intensive study, constant conflicts in the family or financial problems negatively affect morale.
• Severe physical condition. The inability to control one’s own body hits hard on the psyche and makes one think in a negative way and fall into apathy.
• Hormonal disbalance. During pregnancy, after childbirth and during menopause, women may experience uncontrollable attacks of fear, aggression or anxiety. Anxiety can also be a consequence of disruption of the endocrine glands.
• Deficiency of nutrients, microelements and vitamins. Metabolic processes in the body are disrupted and, first of all, fasting affects the state of the brain.

The production of neurotransmitters is negatively affected by a lack of B vitamins, glucose and magnesium.

• Passive lifestyle. If a person does not have even minimal physical activity in his life, all metabolic processes slow down. Feeling restless for no reason is a direct consequence of this imbalance. A light warm-up helps release endorphins and provide at least a short-term distraction from depressing thoughts.
• Brain lesions. Birth injuries, severe infectious diseases suffered at an early age, concussions, alcoholism or drug addiction.

Causes of increased anxiety in children

• Anxiety in a child in 80% of cases is a mistake on the part of the parents.
• Overprotection from parents. “Don’t go there - you’ll fall and hurt yourself!”, “You’re too weak, don’t pick it up!”, “Don’t play with these guys, they’re a bad influence on you!” - all these prohibiting and limiting phrases put pressure on the child, which manifests itself in adult life as self-doubt and constraint.
• Guardian's suspiciousness and hysteria. Anxiety disorder often occurs in people who grew up with their grandmothers. Loud sighs and screams when a child falls or gets hurt are stored in the subcortex as a block to actions that involve minimal risk.
• Alcoholism, drug addiction, religious fanaticism of parents. When a child does not have before his eyes an example of a person who knows how to take responsibility for his own actions, it is very difficult for him to learn self-control.
• Frequent conflicts between mother and father. A child who regularly sees his parents arguing withdraws into himself because of his helplessness and gets used to living with a feeling of anxiety.
• Cruelty or detachment on the part of parents. Lack of emotional contact, affection and closeness with parents in childhood leads to the fact that a person becomes socially awkward in adulthood.
• Fear of separation from mother or father. Threats to leave the family have a strong impact on the child’s psyche and undermine his trust in people.
• Lack of a firm understanding of what is possible and what is not. A prohibition from the father, but permission from the mother, the phrases “you can’t do this, but now you can” deprive the child of guidelines.
• Fear of not being accepted by peers. Due to the awareness of one’s difference from others (external or social).
• Lack of independence. The mother’s desire to do everything quickly and efficiently (dress, wash, tie shoelaces) leads to the fact that the child will feel awkward compared to more independent peers.

Increased consumption of caffeinated drinks and foods high in sugar has a detrimental effect on morale.

How to get rid of feelings of anxiety and restlessness on your own?

Being in an anxious state for no reason, a person quickly becomes exhausted and begins to look for ways to solve the problem. The following psychological practices will help you get out of a depressing state without outside help:

• Understand and accept that you cannot control everything.. There is always room for unpredictable events. As soon as you realize that everything is not going according to plan, build a new one. This way you will again feel the ground under your feet and understand where to move next.
• Don't worry about what happened in the past or is going to happen in the future. Be aware of yourself in the present moment. This is the only time where you can work on your own comfort.
• Take a break. Give yourself time to calm down and stabilize. Take a break for 1 hour, drink a cup of tea, meditate. Don't work to burn out.
• Let your emotions come out. Don’t withdraw into yourself - cry, beat a pillow, complain to someone, or write a list starting with the words: “I’m worried because...”.
• Change your surroundings. If you feel that the whole environment is putting pressure on you, change it. Take a new route home, eat a dish you've never tried before, try wearing clothes that aren't your style. This will give you the feeling that time does not stand still. As soon as possible, go on vacation and give yourself a break from the daily routine.

To develop a permanent habit, you need to do the same action for 21 days. Give yourself a break from overwhelming obligations for 21 days and do something you really enjoy. The psyche will have time to adapt to a different way.

How to get rid of fear quickly?

There are situations when you need to get rid of anxiety and fear immediately. It could be a matter of future reputation, self-respect, or even life and death. The following tips will help remove anxiety and fear in a few minutes:

• Talk to yourself by calling yourself by name. Ask yourself: (name), why are you so worried? Do you really think you can't handle this? Cheer yourself up the way you would cheer up someone close to you. Remember all the situations where you overcame yourself and praise each one. There is a good one on this topic.
• Meditate. Learn simple meditation techniques. Find a comfortable position, close your eyes and concentrate on your breathing without trying to control it. In order to relax, 3-5 minutes will be enough. They will also help.
• Make yourself laugh. Think about a funny story, watch a funny video, or ask someone to tell you a joke. A couple of minutes of cheerful laughter - and the anxiety will disappear as suddenly as it appeared.

When should you seek help from a doctor?

Due to the fact that psychological illnesses are a taboo topic for the CIS countries, it is very difficult for most people to admit their own helplessness in the face of illness and turn to a specialist. This must be done if:

• constant anxiety is accompanied by attacks of panic horror;
• the desire to avoid discomfort leads to isolation and self-isolation;
• suffers from nagging pain in the chest, attacks of vomiting, dizziness, surges in blood pressure until loss of consciousness;
• a feeling of exhaustion and powerlessness from endless, intense anxiety.

Remember that mental disorder is also a disease. There is nothing wrong with it, just like there is nothing wrong with a cold. It is not your fault that you are sick and need help.

After talking with a specialist, you will know exactly what should be done in your situation, and what is better to postpone until later. You will not act by trial and error, which will also help to calm you down.

In mine, I teach people to get out of a state of chronic anxiety and return to their integrity and inner harmony, using a holistic approach. If you have a need for internal healing, a desire and readiness for self-knowledge, if you are ready to find your own harmony, I gladly invite you to my programs and courses.

With love, Maria Shakti

Mentally close:

In the modern world, it is rare to meet a person who has never had a feeling of fear and anxiety, but not everyone knows how to cope with such a condition. Constant stress, anxiety, tension associated with work or personal life do not allow you to relax for a minute. What’s worse is that patients with this pathology experience unpleasant physiological symptoms, including headaches, pressing sensations in the heart or temples, which may indicate serious illness. The question of how to get rid of anxiety interests everyone, so it is worth considering in more detail.

Panic attacks

Conditions caused by excitability of the nervous system and accompanied by characteristic symptoms are classified as anxiety disorders. They are typically characterized by a constant feeling of anxiety and fear, excitement, fussiness and a number of other symptoms. Such sensations occur against the background of disorders of the central nervous system or are a sign of certain diseases. A neurologist can determine the exact cause after a detailed examination of the patient and a series of diagnostic studies. In most cases, dealing with panic attacks on your own is difficult.

Important! Problems arise due to a dysfunctional atmosphere in the family, prolonged depression, a predisposition to anxiety due to character, due to mental disorders and other reasons.

The reason for anxiety can be justified, for example, a person is worried before an important event or has recently suffered serious stress, or it can be far-fetched, when there are no visible reasons for concern. In both the first and second cases, treatment is required, the type of which is determined by the doctor. When it comes to how to cope with feelings of anxiety, first of all you need to determine whether such a condition is really a pathology, or whether we are talking about temporary difficulties. The reasons can be mental or physiological, the list of common ones includes:

• psychological predisposition;
• family problems;
• problems coming from childhood;
• emotional stress;
• problems with the endocrine system;
• severe illness;
• excessive physical exercise.

Manifestations and signs

Symptoms of anxiety and restlessness are divided into two categories: mental and autonomic. First of all, it is worth noting the constant feeling of anxiety, which can be temporary or permanent, increases the pulse rate. At such moments, a person becomes worried and experiences a number of characteristic conditions, such as severe weakness, trembling of limbs, or increased sweating. The duration of a standard attack does not exceed 20 minutes, after which it goes away on its own, its severity depends on the severity of the pathology.

A constant feeling of anxiety can develop due to autonomic disorders, the causes of which are problems with hormones or vegetative-vascular dystonia. Patients experience hypochondria, obsessive states, constant mood swings, insomnia, tearfulness or aggressive behavior for no reason.

Signs of a panic attack are also somatic disorders, in which dizziness, pain in the head and heart, nausea or diarrhea, shortness of breath and a feeling of lack of air are observed. The list of signs is extensive and includes:

• fear of various situations;
• fussiness, sudden reaction to sounds or situations;
• sweaty palms, fever, rapid pulse;
• fatigue, fatigue;
• problems with memory and concentration;
• sensation of a “lump” inside the throat;
• sleep problems, nightmares;
• feeling of suffocation and other symptoms.

Diagnostic features

A person suffering from excessive anxiety often wants to know how to overcome and remove unpleasant symptoms that can greatly complicate life. Put accurate diagnosis can be done by a qualified specialist after a detailed conversation with the patient and a thorough examination. First, you should visit a therapist, who needs to explain the symptoms and talk about possible reasons condition. Then the doctor will issue a referral to a specialist: a psychologist or neurologist, and if there are specific diseases, to another doctor.

Important! To overcome feelings of anxiety, you should be more careful when choosing a doctor and not turn to psychotherapists with dubious qualifications. Only a specialist with sufficient experience can help get rid of the problem.

When a person has a feeling of acute anxiety and fear for no apparent reason, he simply does not know what to do, how to cope with his condition and behave in a specific situation. Usually, the doctor can determine the severity of the pathology during the first conversation with the patient. At the diagnostic stage, it is important to understand the cause of the problem, determine the type and find out whether the patient has mental disorders. In neurotic conditions, patients cannot correlate their problems with the real condition; in the presence of psychosis, they do not realize the fact of the disease.

Patients with heart pathology may experience rapid heartbeat, a feeling of shortness of breath, and other conditions that are a consequence of certain diseases. In this case, diagnosis and treatment are aimed at eliminating the underlying disease, which makes it possible to further get rid of unpleasant signs of anxiety and fear. Diagnosis in children and adults is almost the same and consists of a full range of procedures, following which doctors are able to determine the cause of the condition and prescribe appropriate treatment.

Principles of treatment

The essence of successful recovery lies in the usefulness of therapeutic measures, which consist of psychological assistance, changing habits and lifestyle, taking special sedatives and other medications, and a number of other important procedures. For serious pathologies, doctors prescribe antidepressants and tranquilizers, but it is worth considering that such drugs provide temporary relief and do not eliminate the cause of the problem; they have serious side effects and contraindications. Therefore, they are not prescribed for mild pathology.

Cognitive behavioral therapy, relaxation techniques and much more give good results. Often, specialists prescribe ongoing conversations for the patient with a psychologist, who teaches special techniques to help cope with stress and eliminate unpleasant symptoms in moments of anxiety. Such measures relieve stress and help get rid of panic attacks, which is noted by many people who have suffered from anxiety disorders. When it comes to how to cope with anxiety and what treatment to choose, it is better not to self-medicate.

Additional measures

Most signs of anxiety can be treated early to prevent the condition from getting worse. The main guarantee of good health is traditionally a healthy lifestyle, which involves following the rules healthy eating, proper sleep, giving up negative habits, including smoking and drinking alcoholic beverages. Having a favorite hobby helps you to abstract yourself from negative situations and switch to something you enjoy. But not everyone knows how to relax correctly and relieves stress in the wrong ways.

Due to frequent stress, a person may experience heart pain and other negative symptoms, the correction of which requires special treatment. Special relaxation methods help prevent many serious diseases, so people prone to stress should learn the basics of meditation, breathing exercises and other techniques.

Anxiety can always be prevented if you do not react to external stimuli and try to remain calm even in the most stressful situations, and know how to cope with stress.

You can learn how to get rid of anxiety from the video below:

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The impact of VSD attacks on patients’ vision, causes of disorders, methods of treatment and prevention

Feelings of anxiety and worry are a common reaction of people to some negative events, anticipation or even anticipation of them. However, anxiety often reduces the quality of our already difficult lives.

We worry and worry for many objective and subjective reasons. Dismissal from work, appointment to a higher responsible position, illness and much more. In such cases, anxiety is a reaction of our psyche that helps to overcome stress. When the problem is successfully resolved, the anxiety will go away.

Doctors have the concept of “pathological anxiety.” This is when a person is always tense and experiences inexplicable anxiety. He explains his condition as a premonition of some kind of danger. This state cannot be considered natural, the quality of life decreases, anxiety dominates other human feelings. Chronic anxiety is not a result of stress or a personality trait. This is a disease that requires treatment.

Feelings of anxiety - their causes

Naturally, the cause of the disease is the anxiety and temperament of a particular person. But the basis is some change in the brain (the metabolism of serotonin, which transmits the nerve impulse, is disrupted). Medical scientists in many countries conducted research, involving hundreds of volunteers in their experiments. As a result, it was found that such changes are genetic in nature. Therefore, worry and anxiety can be hereditary.

Feelings of anxiety and constant worry cause sleep disturbances

For example, vegetative-vascular dystonia may be one of the symptoms of a completely different disease or simply fatigue. Such mental disorders are sometimes hidden under various diagnoses. Anxiety often accompanies muscle tension that a person almost constantly feels. The main symptoms of anxiety are: unreasonable worry, irritation and

A person is practically never in a calm state. He fusses all the time, bites his lips, fidgets in his chair, and sometimes shudders or trembles for no apparent reason. All this proves that the patient has chronic anxiety. Signs of this disease also include fatigue, memory loss, and palpitations. A person may experience shortness of breath, constipation or loose stools, dizziness, etc.

What can help you cope with anxiety?

In such a situation, breathing exercises often help. We can recommend breathing “into the bag”. As soon as you feel nauseous, press the paper bag to your mouth and breathe. A massage can have a good effect. The so-called “zone of concern” is located on the hand. These are folds formed during bending. Give this area a light massage and after a few minutes you will calm down.

Don't drink black tea. It is better to replace it with the addition of valerian, which includes motherwort, peony, lemon balm, peppermint, chamomile, and hawthorn. This decoction will quickly have a calming effect. You can also take a complex of vitamins Mg - B6 or Ca - D3. This will reduce anxiety, relax muscles, and improve heart and lung function.

Remember that it is better to completely exclude medicinal substances containing phenobarbital from use. Taking anxiolytics can cause memory impairment and have negative effects on the liver. Very often, similar drugs cause addiction. Under no circumstances should they be used by elderly people. Anxiolytics can only relieve symptoms for a short time, but will not eliminate the cause of the disease. It is better to take antidepressants after consulting your doctor.

Yoga and meditation will also help. IN Lately psychiatrists offer massage, book therapy, listening to classical music and even dance therapy. A good novel or detective story, quiet music will help you calm down. We can recommend active games in the fresh air, leisurely morning and evening walks, meetings with good friends, and for women, a leisurely shopping trip would be a good calmer.

Worry for no reason is a problem that people face, regardless of their gender, age, health status, or position in society. Many of us believe that the reason for this inexplicably arising fear lies in environmental factors, and few have the courage to admit to themselves that the problem lies within ourselves. Or rather, not even in us, but in how we perceive the events of our lives, how we react to the natural needs and demands of the psyche.

It often happens that a person lives for years with similar problems, which accumulate over time, causing much more serious difficulties and disorders. Having realized as a result that he is not able to cope with the deep-rooted disorder on his own, the patient turns to a psychotherapist, who makes a diagnosis of “generalized anxiety disorder.” Read below about what this disease is, what causes it, and whether it can be overcome.

The first symptoms of causeless excitement

A person's reaction to danger (real or imagined) always includes both a mental and physiological response. That is why there are a number of bodily symptoms that accompany a vague feeling of fear. Signs of anxiety for no reason can be different, here are the most common ones:

• , rhythm disturbances, “fading” of the heart;
• convulsions, trembling of hands and feet, feeling of weak knees;
• increased sweating;
• chills, fever, trembling;
• lump in throat, dry mouth;
• pain and discomfort in the solar plexus area;
• dyspnea;
• nausea, vomiting, intestinal upset;
• increase/decrease in blood pressure.

The list of symptoms of causeless anxiety can be continued indefinitely.

Generalized anxiety disorder and “ordinary” anxiety: differences

However, we must not lose sight of the fact that there is a normal state of anxiety that is inherent in every person, and the so-called generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), which in no case should be confused. Unlike anxiety, which occurs from time to time, obsessive symptoms of GAD can accompany a person with enviable consistency.

Unlike “ordinary” anxiety, which does not interfere with your daily life, work, or communication with loved ones, GAD can interfere with your personal life, rebuilding and radically changing your habits and the entire rhythm of everyday life. Also, generalized anxiety disorder differs from simple anxiety in that you are not able to control it, anxiety greatly depletes your emotional and even physical strength, anxiety does not leave you day after day (minimum period is six months).

Symptoms of an anxiety disorder include:

• constant feeling of concern;
• inability to subordinate experiences to control;
• an obsessive desire to know how the situation will develop in the future, that is, to subordinate everything to personal control;
• increased fear and anxiety;
• obsessive thoughts that you or your loved ones will certainly get into trouble;
• inability to relax (especially when alone);
• absent-minded attention;
• mild excitability;
• irritability;
• a feeling of weakness or, conversely, excessive tension throughout the body;
• , feeling groggy in the morning, difficulty falling asleep and restless sleep.

If you experience at least a few of these symptoms that persist for a long time, it is quite possible that you have an anxiety disorder.

Personal and social causes of anxiety disorder

The emotion of fear always has a source, while an incomprehensible feeling of anxiety overtakes a person as if for no reason. It is very difficult to identify its underlying cause without qualified help. An obsessive expectation of a catastrophe or failure, a feeling that soon something bad will happen to the person himself, his child or one of the family members - all this becomes familiar to a patient suffering from unreasonable anxiety.

It is interesting that personal and social upheavals often affect a person’s state of mind not at the very moment of their occurrence, but after some time. In other words, when life returns to normal, the subconscious presents us with a problem that has already been experienced, but not processed, resulting in neurosis.

If we were wild animals who have to fight for survival every second, perhaps everything would be simpler - after all, animals are devoid of neurotic disorders. But due to the fact that we have no use for the instinct of self-preservation in everyday routine, the guidelines shift, and we begin to transfer it to any minor trouble, inflating it to the size of a universal catastrophe.

Biological and genetic aspects of the problem

Interestingly, the nature of the mechanism of causeless anxiety is not fully known. However, recent research in this area proves that in addition to personal and social upheavals that can influence the appearance of obsessive anxiety, there are biological and genetic factors. For example, there is a possibility that a parent suffering from GAD will have a child who is also prone to this disorder.

Interesting information has been obtained from the latest research in this area: it has been proven that excessive stress may be the reason that changes occur in the brain. So, with severe fear, certain areas in the cerebral cortex are activated. When the feeling of fear passes, the activated neural networks return to normal functioning.

But it happens that a settlement never occurs. In this case, excessive stress causes the medial prefrontal cortex to “grow” new neural fibers that grow towards the amygdala. They contain an inhibitory GABA peptide, the negative feature of which is increased anxiety.

Such a mechanism can be considered proof that the human body is trying to independently cope with an unresolved problem, to “process” the stress that has settled deep in it. The fact that there is a change in the functioning of neural networks proves that the brain is struggling with distress. It is unknown whether he will be able to cope with the problem on his own, since usually fear is firmly “stuck” in the head and flares up at the slightest reminder of a stressful situation.

What's going on in your head?

In the subconscious of every person live his personal fears, which have happened to others, and therefore, in his opinion, can happen to him or his loved ones. It is from here that the legs of our panic attacks and unreasonable anxieties “grow.” The problem is that in case of real danger, a person will most likely find a way out, but we don’t know how to deal with internal disturbing “cockroaches”.

As a result, we are faced not with the cause of anxiety, but with its replacement - a picture of this or that event chewed and digested by our perception and the instinct for self-preservation that craves activity. Moreover, this picture is specially dramatized to the limit - in otherwise We're just not interested.

Brain biochemistry also plays an important role in this process. During the development of the mechanisms of generalized anxiety disorder, changes in the level of neurotransmitters in the brain are observed. The main function of neurotransmitters (mediators) is to ensure the “delivery” of chemicals from one nerve cell to another. If there is an imbalance in the functioning of the mediators, delivery cannot occur properly. As a result, the brain begins to react to ordinary problems more vulnerable, which leads to the development of unreasonable anxieties.

Breaking Bad…

In order to somehow cope with an unreasonable feeling of anxiety, a person usually chooses one of the most accessible ways:

• someone “copes” with anxiety with the help of drugs, alcohol or nicotine;
• others take the path of workaholics;
• Some people suffering from causeless anxiety focus on their social position;
• someone devotes their entire life to some scientific or religious idea;
• some “muffle” anxiety with an overly busy and often promiscuous sex life.

It is easy to guess that each of these paths obviously leads to failure. Therefore, instead of ruining the lives of yourself and those around you, it is better to follow much more promising scenarios.

How is generalized anxiety disorder diagnosed?

If symptoms of an anxiety disorder persist over a long period of time, the doctor will often recommend a full evaluation of the patient. Since there are no tests that could help diagnose GAD, tests are usually used for this purpose - they help determine whether there is a particular physical ailment that could cause these symptoms.

The patient's stories and examination results, the timing and intensity of symptoms become the basis for making a diagnosis of GAD. As for the last two points, the signs of an anxiety disorder must be regular for six months and so strong that the patient’s usual rhythm of life is disrupted (even to the point of forcing him to miss work or school).

Searching for a way out

Usually at the root of the problem lies a complex lump of so-called dominants and stereotypes with which our subconscious is teeming. Of course, the easiest way is to attribute your own anxious reactions to certain life difficulties, to your personal failure, to your temperament, or even worse, to heredity.

However, as the experience of psychotherapy shows, a person is able to control the work of his consciousness, subconscious and entire mental apparatus in such a way as to cope with generalized anxiety disorder. How can he do this?

We present three options for the development of events. However, if the tips below do not help you, you should not bear the burden of unreasonable anxiety on your own: in this case, you should seek the help of qualified specialists.

Scenario No. 1: ignoring provocation

An inexplicable feeling of anxiety is often associated with irritation due to the fact that we cannot find the cause of fear. Thus, it turns out that this or that situation that causes us anxiety is a priori irritable. And in this case, the principle of refusing the provocation that your own subconscious gives you is effective: you need to try to redirect the irritation in another direction.

Scenario #2: Controlling Muscle Tension

Since emotions and muscles act interconnectedly, you can deal with causeless anxiety this way: as soon as you feel increasing signs of approaching fear (rapid heartbeat, sweating, and so on), you need to give yourself a mental order not to let them get out of control. Try to recognize them as the inevitable accompanying “baggage” of anxiety, but do not let muscle tension completely take over you. You will see: negative bodily sensations in this case will not develop into something more serious.

Scenario #3: Negative emotions do not need to be justified

In a moment of causeless anxiety, you should not look for a logical justification for your negative psychological reaction. Of course, there is a justification for your fears, but in seconds of emotional stress you most likely will not be able to soberly assess them. As a result, the subconscious will present you on a silver platter with something that is not at all what it should be.

Let's summarize and draw conclusions

So, anxiety for no reason is most often the result of our unreasonably inflated reaction to an event that, in fact, should have caused a much smaller flurry of emotions. As a result, a person's response to anxiety becomes irritability, apathy, or...

To cope with these negative aspects, it is advisable to contact an experienced psychotherapist who uses and will give practical advice. Doing your best work on this problem on your own will also not be superfluous: in order to combat negative emotions and experience less anxiety, try to implement the scenarios described above into life.

Worry for no reason

In the 21st century, people are exposed to many constant stress factors. The attack of negative news from the mass media, interpersonal problems, global military conflicts, easily unsettles one’s mental balance. Poor nutrition and the environment, adding to psychological difficulties, can cause a state of depression, depression, an unreasonable feeling of fear, and severe anxiety.

Anxiety is accompanied by symptoms:

• A sudden feeling of anxiety and panic, as if something is going to happen.
• A constant state of discomfort, diffuse pain throughout the body, mild nausea.
• An attack of unreasonable fear of death, of increasing danger without a visible source of threat.
• Anxiety that intensifies in the evening. Depressed, bad mood. Mental turmoil, persistent melancholy.
• Obsessive fears, bad thoughts about the sudden possibility of dying.
• Worsening of the condition in the morning after drinking coffee - increased tremor, anxiety. It becomes difficult to breathe, nausea, and inexplicable anxiety and panic arise.

Psychology and psychiatry describe the increasingly frequent phenomenon of panic attacks. An unconscious defensive reaction is provoked by prolonged stressful situations, an oppressive feeling of being under control, and defenselessness in society. Psychotherapist Walter Cannon described a specific state of the body: “fight or flight” in 1932.

The term implies the inclusion of protective mechanisms that have been present in genes since the appearance of the species Homo sapiens. An explainable phenomenon shows that panic attacks occur for no reason, without real threats, and provoke flight and a defensive attack.

Symptoms of unreasonable fear, panic attack:

1. The sudden attack was not provoked by anything. A feeling of increasing anxiety and panic appears.
2. Unpleasant “excitement” in the chest and stomach.
3. Impaired breathing function: rapid, superficial can lead to HVS syndrome (pulmonary hyperventilation). The result is dizziness, lightheadedness.
4. Nausea, “trembling”, trembling throughout the body.

The feeling of panic is caused by constant overexcitation of the sympathetic nervous system, which is controlled by the spinal cord. The peripheral system is responsible for the physiology of the body, which is not controlled by the human will.

An anxious state causes acute signs of vegetative-vascular dystonia:

• Pallor of the skin, coldness of the extremities, weakness, feeling of a “lump” squeezing the throat.
• Tremor, internal trembling that cannot be calmed on your own.
• Hyperhidrosis is increased sweating of the feet, palms, or entire body.
• Cardioneurosis - causeless excitement provokes irregular heartbeat, tachycardia, pulse rate up to 150 beats per minute.
• A common cause of panic is an irrational, obsessive fear of death, numbness of the body, tingling in the hands and feet.

The condition is caused by constantly growing negative experiences, severe stressful situations of a physical and neuro-emotional nature. At an unconscious level, the human brain begins to perceive the body as a source of danger and is constantly in a threat mode.

At this stage of the reactionary struggle, there is an increased production of the hormone adrenaline, cortisol, by the adrenal glands. They provoke unmotivated aggression, self-aggression, nervousness, and rudeness. The period does not last long, followed by a depressed state of boredom, indifference, and lethargy.

Regular attacks of causeless panic provoke:

• Insomnia, insomnia, due to unreasonable fear. Nightmarish dreams associated with constant anxiety, fear of falling asleep, frequent awakenings.
• Constant lack of appetite, emotional apathy, anorexia, frequent irritation. Drowsiness, increased tearfulness, causeless mood swings.
• Psychogenic pain in the heart area, which causes fear of sudden death. Headaches, dizziness.
• Obsessive phobias, vague mystical fears, increased nervous excitability.
• Derealization is a sudden state of clouded perception of reality. A sign of prolonged mental stress.
• Sudden panic attacks are the cause of psychosomatic diseases. Anxiety triggered by bad thoughts increases blood pressure.

The causes of panic attacks are diverse, often present in a complex, rarely represented by a single factor. The prerequisites for a possible disorder of the nervous system can be observed as early as childhood, 7-8 years of age, and become more noticeable by the age of 18.

A person who begins to perceive himself as an individual falls under a complex of unfavorable influences that traumatize the psyche. In young people and older people, symptoms and panic attacks are similar.

The underlying causes of fear attacks, inexplicable anxiety

1. Emotional deprivation: insufficiently fulfilled psycho-emotional needs and feelings. It is observed in single men and women of different ages, young children from disadvantaged families. Manifested by a lack of support and acceptance. Panic syndrome is triggered by constant emotional, tactile hunger, lack of energy exchange with parents and loved ones.
2. Long-term hidden or untreated depression, diseases of internal organs. Problems with the endocrine system have a particular impact on the emotional state. An imbalance of hormones secreted by the thyroid gland and adrenal glands is one of the causes of attacks of incomprehensible anxiety, which creates feelings of panic.
3. Toxic, harmful interpersonal relationships according to scenarios: accusations, increased demands, manipulation. Elimination of the opportunity to talk and restore justice. The loss of a loved one is a common factor in long-term neurosis.
4. Hormonal changes in the body during adolescence and menopause. Pregnancy, early postpartum period. Seasonal lack of sunny days, autumn blues.
5. Deliberately created conditions where a person constantly feels powerless over a situation, for example - a school curriculum, emotional tyranny in the family, persecution. Staying near a source for a long time provokes attacks of panic and inexplicable anxiety.

A feeling of sudden fear can arise against the background of relative emotional health, during a period when the stressor has ceased to act. The feeling of anxiety appears unexpectedly and tends to intensify negative symptoms in the body and mind of a person.

How to overcome chronic anxiety - what to do at the very beginning?

• Seek advice from a psychotherapist.

Before prescribing therapy, the doctor must exclude diseases: diabetes mellitus, cervical osteochondrosis, the presence of oncological tumors. Prescribe a comprehensive biochemical blood test, check the balance of microelements and vitamins.

• Do not use medications on your own that relieve symptoms of sudden panic fear or severe anxiety.

It is forbidden to take pills without eliminating the cause. Anxiolytics, antidepressants, tranquilizers will help for a short period of time, constant use will provoke dependence. Often after withdrawal there is an increased feeling of panic, constant anxiety, and unjustified fear of death.

• It is necessary to undergo daily ECG monitoring and an ultrasound of the heart.
• Get rid of diets that cause a lack of useful microelements and vitamins. Long-term veganism, vegetarianism, raw food diet, and exclusion of glucose quickly leads to frequent attacks of panic attacks.

A balanced diet is a primary factor in the treatment of depression and panic attacks. The constant presence of the proper combination of proteins, fats, and complex carbohydrates in food can prevent most sudden anxiety states caused by hunger.

• Before treatment, it is necessary to undergo an examination by specialized specialists to exclude morphological and structural diseases of the organs. The last examination is carried out by a psychiatrist. Panic attacks can be only part of another pathological psychocomplex.
• Drug treatment of panic attacks is prescribed after the ineffectiveness of working on the emotional state and eliminating the source of stress.

Psychotherapist Evgeniy Batrak regards panic attack syndrome as a borderline condition. At this stage, the disease has not manifested itself in full force, but the symptoms signaling disturbances in the functioning of the nervous system are already clearly pronounced.

How to prevent causeless anxiety attacks in advance?

1. Regular exercise in the fresh air can help prevent panic attacks. Running, swimming, any active sport, breathing practices.
2. Self-regulation of emotional background. If you suddenly feel that an attack is coming, you should learn to distract yourself: pinch painfully, stop thinking about the approaching panic attack, interrupt negative thoughts with memorized phrases from auto-training.
3. Physical, emotional overload, all causes of panic attacks should be excluded. Plan your time in advance, perform safe work that does not cause anxiety or fear.
4. Sudden, causeless anxiety often causes short sleep, work without vacation, and emotional overload. You need to sleep at least 8 hours a day; frequent stress causes exhaustion of the nervous system; if possible, take a long vacation.
5. Eliminate constant sources of anxiety, negative experiences, change jobs, or end harmful relationships. Don’t hold back your emotions, find a suitable way to express them: dancing, sports, drawing. Any creative activity distracts from bad obsessive thoughts and anxiety.

The state of an unbalanced nervous system returns to normal quite slowly. It is necessary to treat yourself with patience, to maintain a systematic autogenic calming training and daily routine.

How to overcome a sudden anxiety attack on your own?

1. Provide yourself with access to plenty of space and fresh air. Dispersing attention around helps to overcome sudden panic and anxiety. Fixing the cause of internal anxiety aggravates the situation.
2. Control the depth and frequency of breathing movements. Make breathing rare, moderately deep, avoid hyperventilation. It will help dull the feeling of anxiety and reduce emotional stress.
3. Ask for help, or feel free to refuse it. Depending on the reasons, it may be easier to cope with attacks of emotional anxiety on your own.
4. In case of a sudden night attack of panic, internal trembling, fear - urgently get up to eat, drink warm, weak tea. There is no need to eat sweets. The process is a distraction, will gradually increase the level of glucose in the blood, and reduce the feeling of anxiety.
5. During frequent, constant panic attacks, remove additional irritants - restless music, films, books, TV, limit Internet use as much as possible.

A mistake in helping people experiencing attacks of sudden fear and panic is the immediate use of medications that block emotions. This causes exhaustion of the nervous system, emotional insensitivity, and dependence on the therapy received. Emotional lability and anxiety require the exclusion of a negative irritating factor.

For two months you can exclude viewing all potentially dangerous things, avoid situations that provoke causeless excitement and panic. Maintain a strict work and rest schedule, eat a balanced diet to avoid a lack of microelements necessary for a healthy nervous system.