A Guide to Anxiety: A Personal Perspective

The semester is nearing an end, yet everything seems to be revving up and getting busy. Sleep schedules are starting to become non-existent and stress is starting to build, and this may be triggering some anxiety among many collegiates. It’s safe to say you’re not alone. Here’s a guide to some basic information about and coping mechanisms for anxiety.  

Anxiety goes beyond just feeling nervous before a test, speech, or first date. While those events can make a person feel anxious, dealing with an anxiety disorder is a different experience. As our generation becomes increasingly busy and stressed out, the word “anxiety” may refer to a symptom or a mental disorder. The nature of the word is tricky to understand, even after dealing with anxiety for many years, it can still be a struggle to explain what anxiety is. Since there are literally over a hundred symptoms and effects of anxiety, it’s safe to say that everyone has their own experience.

So…what does it feel like?

Living with an anxiety disorder means dealing with constant uncontrollable worry and fear about present and future events. These fears are often irrational and unrealistic, but the feelings are overwhelming. The best way I can describe having anxiety is through a comparison. You know that feeling when you’re walking up or down the stairs and you miss a step? That moment where you stomach drops, and you’re in a state of panic? You go into fight-or-flight mode and then your body responds you catch yourself. Anxiety sort of feels like that moment of panic once you miss the step, but constantly.

Essentially, anxiety disorders cause people to involuntarily overanalyse many situations. Anxiety makes a person’s senses become extra sensitive, so that a noise, a big crowd, or even just walking to class is interpreted as a big threat. Your heart constantly races, or you might feel dizzy, have tingly hands, or feel short of breath. Other symptoms include: heart palpitations (rapid heartbeat), irritability, feelings of depersonalization, nausea, trembling, shaking, and fear of dying. These symptoms can be brought on by many things, from health issues and school problems to simply what bus you’re going to take to get home.

 Anxious people even get anxious about feeling anxious! It really can be a vicious cycle.

You’re not alone!

It’s probably the best time to be alive with an anxiety disorder, because unlike in the past, anxiety is a clinically recognized mental illness and is no longer viewed as a term for being a very sensitive, shy, and overdramatic person. Today, doctors and psychologists are trying to increase awareness of this mental disorder that us collegiates are actually especially prone to! Celebrities and social media stars such and Emma Stone, Ellie Goulding, Demi Lovato, John Mayor, and Zoe Sugg (better known as Zoella) are only a few examples of people who have struggled with anxiety. It’s no longer something viewed as a disorder to be ashamed of.

However, with increased publicity, the term anxiety gets used a lot nowadays. As a result, many people don’t realize the real extent of disorder. Others are quick to diagnose themselves with anxiety when what they are experiencing is stress. The difference between the two is that anxiety is a constant feeling of impending doom and uneasiness that is present even in non-stressful situations. Anxiety can be a result of stress, but whereas stress is a response to a specific stressor, anxiety doesn’t always have an identifiable root.

Many people don’t tell others they have anxiety, because they don’t want to seem like they are dramatic, or don’t like the stigma that does with having a mental illness. Even though I am a person who suffers from anxiety, I’ve gotten very good at either hiding it, or just coping with it. It’s not something that I choose to point out, because thankfully, I have it under control, and I don’t let it define me.

Three Things to Avoid Saying Around Someone with Anxiety

1.“Just calm down.”

 Two words someone with anxiety never wants to hear: “calm down.” It’s hard to expect someone to calm down when they themselves don’t understand why they’re not calm in the first place.  Mental illness is not a choice. PsychologyToday.com gives one of the best analogies for this: “telling someone with anxiety to calm down is like telling someone with allergies to ‘stop sneezing’…not so simple.”

2.“It’s all in your head.”

Avoid this one at all costs. People with anxiety know that their anxiousness and fear is irrational. If we could help it, we would!

3.“You look fine. What do you have to be anxious about?”

This line can be a little condescending, because mental illnesses may not have symptoms like a cough or a loss of voice, but the symptoms are there. As I mentioned before, people often try to hide that they’re in distress. By saying that there’s nothing to be anxious about, one shows lack of understanding of what anxiety truly is. This also dismisses symptoms an anxious person might be feeling internally.

Panic Attacks 101

Panic attacks often accompany generalized anxiety disorder. Panic disorder is a type of condition where immense fear and panic arise rapidly without a rational cause. Panic attacks may have a trigger (such as public speaking), but they often come out-of-the-blue. Panic attacks encapsulate the body and produce psychical symptoms such as rapid heart rate, sweating, feeling out control, nausea, chest pain, and feeling like you’re being choked… and that’s only to name a few. While they only last about ten minutes, panic attacks can occur one after another almost all day, a few times a week, month, or year. Either way they leave you feeling extremely exhausted, and often the worst part is worrying about when the next one will strike.

How to Deal With Anxiety

1.     Recognize when you feeling especially anxious and don’t try to fight it. When having a panic attack or an extremely anxious day, sometimes it’s best to let it ride out and let the panic take it’s course. Often the more you try to fight it the more preoccupied you get.

2.     Exercise! There’s no better way to naturally get endorphins flowing than getting a little sweaty. Elevating you heart rate for a little while helps to release stress and leaves you feeling good for a few hours.

3.     Find a hobby or a distraction. It’s good to have a new hobby or something to put a little extra energy into to take you brain away from constant worrying or fear. This could be anything from a new sport to drawing, writing, or even watching movies. The point is, find a way to get out of your head for a little while.

4.     Get your diet in check. Too much caffeine, junk food, and alcohol can all trigger anxiety and panic attacks. Two summers ago I cut out caffeine entirely for just two months to help get rid of headaches, and an unexpected result was that I felt WAY less anxious. Here’s a list of foods to try swapping out of your diet for alternatives like, avocados, camomile tea, and berries that will help calm the body.

5.     Breathe. Breathing deeply from your diaphragm is one of the oldest ricks in the book. By refocusing your energy into inhaling and exhaling, you can shift your attention away from worrying and help slow down your heart rate.

6.     Talk to Yourself. Now, this one can be a little counterproductive if you are telling yourself the wrong thing. However, if you repeat different mantras to yourself such as “I am going to be okay,” “I am okay,” or “this is just anxiety,” you can make yourself feel much better.

To all the anxious people out there please remember one thing: that there’s no need to suffer in silence – you’re not alone (even if most days it feels that way)! For additional help on campus check out UVic’s Mental Health Services here.

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