Anxiety

“It's a little Anxious," Piglet said to himself, "to be a Very Small Animal Entirely Surrounded by Water”

Piglet, the smallest of A.A. Milne’s characters in Winnie the Pooh, finds many things scary and frightening.  Piglet is often aware of danger, threat of difficulty around.  Piglet feels anxious. 

Anxiety is the feeling of being scared, worried or afraid.  The word “anxiety” may come from the Latin angō, which means “I cause physical pain” or “I torment or distress”.  Another root of the word may be the Latin word ‘angere’ meaning to choke or strangle.  These definitions help us to better understand the way that anxiety can impact a person’s life.  For someone affected by anxiety, physical symptoms such as tense muscles and difficulty breathing along with troubling thoughts and feelings can cause real distress. 

Most people feel anxious or scared at times, especially when coping with change or stressful events.  People can experience a sense of anxiety about what is about to happen or what they fear or anticipate may happen.  Anxiety is often a future related response.  Like other mammals, a certain amount of anxiety is useful to humans.  On becoming aware of some perceived danger or threat, our bodies release certain hormones, such as adrenaline and cortisol. These hormones alert us to be on guard and responsive to threat so that we can take action.   Our hearts beat faster so that blood can quickly reach the parts of our body needed to run or fight the threat.  We may feel shaky and breathless as a result of these hormones.  This response was very useful to our ancestors when we faced the threat of a sabre-toothed tiger, for example.  And it is still very useful today when we need to take prompt action to ensure our survival.  However, for some people, the warning and action system of anxiety is particularly sensitive and remains on high alert when a threat has passed or is a minor, rather than a major threat.  Anxiety can impact on a person’s day-to-day functioning and quality of life, and the good news is that with support, humans can find ways to manage an over-sensitive warning system and thus find relief from debilitating anxiety. 

Anxiety has common symptoms; however, different people will experience anxiety in different ways.  Someone may have a general feeling of worry fear and dread, or anxiety may be related to a specific fear, action, place or event.  Some people experience panic attacks and /or nightmares.  For others, physical symptoms may or may not include butterflies in the stomach, increased heart rate and breathing and / or feeling faint or dizzy.  Thinking is an important component of anxiety, and a person may or may not experience racing thoughts and trouble concentrating. 

For some people with anxiety who seek medical help, they may be given a diagnosis of an anxiety disorder.  For example, generalised anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, health anxiety and  post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are some of the diagnoses that a doctor can give when a person experiences the symptoms of anxiety.  For someone with a diagnosis of an anxiety disorder, treatment options may include self-help strategies, medication and/or talking therapies.  For many people who experience symptoms of anxiety but do not have a diagnosis, self-help and working with a supportive counsellor or psychotherapist can help improve a person’s quality of life and help them to feel more able to cope with difficulty.