Living with Anxiety
This week, Dr. Emily and Dr. Ricci join us to discuss their personal journey with mental health. Both doctors strongly value mental health, and acknowledge the importance of the mind-body connection. This blog post contains both clinical recommendations from mayoclinic.org, as well as personal recommendations from the bear river chiropractic team.
What is anxiety?
anx·i·e·ty
/aNGˈzīədē/
noun
a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome.
Basically, anxiety can be thought of as hyper-vigilance, excessive worrying, or even just a generalized feeling of unease. Anxiety is unique to the person who is experiencing it, and therefore it may manifest in different ways, and consequently need to be treated in differently from person to person.
What does anxiety feel like?
Anxiety can manifest in many different ways. Anxiety can even cause physical symptoms, a phenomenon known as psycho-somatic disease.
tightness in the throat and chest
sweating
racing mind
rapid breath and pulse
nausea
trouble sleeping
irritability
How can i manage my anxiety?
Its important to find something that works for you that can help curb your anxiety. Try and ground yourself to the present moment.
Complete a simple task. Focus all of your energy on it.
Take 5 deep breaths. Try and breath into your belly and not into your chest.
Exercise
Take a nap
Talk to someone. Connecting with others and expressing your feelings often lessens the weight of the anxiety for me.
Take a bath
Say some positive affirmations. Affirmations are calming and positive statements that help ground a person to their environment. Some examples of affirmations include:
“ I am safe. I have everything I need to be happy.”
“ I am loved. I am worthy. I respect myself and others.”
“I am not alone. My life is full of love”
“ I am capable of doing the things I set out to do.”
“I am healthy and strong. I take good care of myself and I feel great.”
*Try to tailor the affirmations to address whatever is bothering you
When should i Ask for Help?
See your doctor if:
Your worrying too much and it's interfering with your work, relationships or other parts of your life
Your anxiety is upsetting to you and difficult to control
You feel depressed, have trouble with alcohol or drug use, or have other mental health concerns
You think your anxiety could be linked to a physical health problem
You have suicidal thoughts or behaviors — if this is the case, seek emergency treatment immediately
For more information on clinical recommendations about anxiety, check out Mayo Clinic’s page on anxiety.
What do you want people to know about anxiety?
I want people to know that its okay to have anxiety. Having anxiety doesn’t mean that you can’t achieve or perform as well as someone else without it. In fact, sometimes, it can push you to do better, and expect more of yourself. I think the trick is learning how to control your anxiety, and to not let it control you. It gives me power to be vulnerable and tell people that I have dealt with anxiety and have overcame a lot of my own self-doubt and worries to become the person that I am today. In sharing it with others, I allow myself to inspire others who are going through the same thing, and I allow others to help me when I am doubting myself.
“For me, I have accepted that my anxiety is part of me, I’m not ashamed of it and I don’t try to hide it from others.” - Dr. Ricci
”Anxiety is part of my daily life. If you let it, anxiety can become paralyzing; but if you fuel it, anxiety can be motivating. i try to always use my anxiety as fuel to keep me building and progressing, but i’m only human and some days its not that easy. ” - Dr. emily
References: www.mayoclinic.org