Do you routinely experience feelings of anxiety? If so, do you worry that you may be suffering from a mental disorder? Practising psychotherapy in London affords me opportunities to work with all sorts of patients dealing with anxiety, depression, and other similar struggles. Know that you are not alone.
Anxiety is an emotion that actually serves a valuable purpose. Coupled with fear, anxiety is an alarm bell, so to speak. It tells us that danger is either present or forthcoming. Feeling anxious gives us an opportunity to assess our surroundings and, if necessary, escape.
Despite being a normal and healthy human emotion, anxiety can get the best of us. People experiencing undue levels of anxiety that they are unable to manage can develop into what we call generalised anxiety disorder (GAD). Seeking anxiety treatment in London would be the way to go if anxiety is overwhelming you.
Note that general feelings of anxiety do not necessarily mean you need professional treatment. Having said that, here are five things to know about such feelings:
1. Mild Anxiety Is Normal
Mild feelings of anxiety are normal. Everyone experiences them at some point. You can be anxious about a job interview or meeting a prospective romantic partner for the first time. You can experience mild feelings of anxiety in social settings where you’re expected to interact with people you don’t know.
Anxiety isn’t problematic if it’s mild and temporary. There is nothing to worry about if your anxiety is mild enough that it doesn’t overwhelm you.
2. Anxiety Should Not Control You
How do you know if anxiety is excessive or severe? If it controls you. In other words, people suffering from GAD typically express feelings of being controlled by worry and fear. They live with anxiety constantly, to the degree that it affects their daily lives. In essence, GAD is easily recognised by constant feelings of anxiety rather than feeling anxious about a particular event followed by the feelings going away.
3. Anxiety Can Produce Physical Symptoms
Next, you should know that long-term anxiety can produce physical symptoms. The symptoms often clue us in to GAD. In addition to feeling restless, worried, and fearful, long-term anxiety can interfere with sleep. It can leave you with difficulty concentrating. Long-term anxiety can even manifest itself in heart palpitations and episodes of dizziness.
4. Anxiety Can Contribute to Disease
Along the same lines as producing physical symptoms, know that long-term anxiety can actually contribute to other diseases. There are definite links between anxiety and disease. It has been observed that people suffering from chronic diseases especially autoimmune (more and more common these days) have suffered from long-term anxiety before. Anxiety impacts our immune system, people who are anxious are more likely to suffer from infections and also more likely to suffer from a severe version of it.
5. Anxiety Is Treatable
If your feelings of anxiety go beyond the mild to constitute a diagnosis of GAD, please know that your condition is treatable. Anxiety doesn’t have to continue to control your life.
Your feelings of anxiety may be little more than a natural reaction to stressful situations. However, I encourage you to seek treatment if you feel like anxiety is a part of daily life that has too much control over you. I offer anxiety treatment in London. There is no need to suffer. Let me help you think differently.