Casey Wilkes, LPC

Anxiety is a normal part of life, with worries and stress about things like money, work, health, or relationships impacting us daily. A little anxiety can be good, helping us stay alert to potential dangers and causing us to change behaviors. While some anxiety is a part of life, studies show Americans have become more worried and anxious over the years.

Adults report more anxiety over current events, and lifestyle factors like too much stress and too little sleep only make this worse. Younger adults note more anxiety around social expectations and the fear of missing out. Traumatic situations such as abuse, an accident, or illness can cause even more anxiety.

If anxiety is a consistent occurrence, it can begin to disrupt daily life and, without treatment, can cause physical and mental health issues. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, almost 20% of Americans have experienced an anxiety disorder in the last year, and 30% will experience an anxiety disorder at some point in their lifetime.

Symptoms of anxiety disorders may include experiencing a sense of doom, danger, fear, or panic, feeling nervous and helpless, and obsessively thinking about what triggered the anxiety. Physical symptoms may include tense muscles, racing or pounding heart, chest pain, hyperventilating or feeling out of breath, shaking, sweating, chills, and feeling dizzy or light-headed. Fatigue, irritability, and mood changes related to anxiety can also play a factor.

People who suffer from anxiety disorders typically experience intense, frequent, and persistent fears about aspects of everyday life. For many people, these intense feelings can also lead to recurrent panic attacks. Types of anxiety disorders include generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, separation anxiety disorder, panic disorders, and specific phobias. Post-traumatic stress syndrome can also include an anxiety disorder.

Having an anxiety disorder is nothing to be ashamed of. It’s basically the brain trying to protect itself, which means the body’s automatic nervous system responses have taken over in response to a perceived threat. The nervous system becomes dysregulated into a freeze, flight, or fight mode, and this can negatively affect thoughts and behaviors.

If excessive worry or fear lasts for two weeks or more and is disrupting your life or affecting loved ones, it’s important to visit your health care provider to rule out any physical causes and start treatment. Treatment for anxiety disorders includes medications and behavioral therapy.

While medications can help lessen anxiety, it is also important to learn how to actively work on calming your nervous system, understanding what triggers the anxiety, and developing methods to help self-regulate it. While it takes time to learn what works best for each individual’s unique needs, developing a toolbelt of strategies can work well to treat anxiety. Partnering with a mental health professional to discuss personal history and explore strategies to manage anxiety can help individuals figure out what works best. Tools to help manage anxiety include developing activities to decrease stress and promote well-being and learning relaxation and mindfulness techniques.

Positive lifestyle choices can help individuals lessen anxiety, like getting good nutrition with regular meals and snacks, avoiding alcohol, caffeine, and other drugs, prioritizing sleep, and getting regular physical activity. Finding consistent ways to relax also helps, and suggestions include yoga, meditation, prayer, fellowship, hobbies, movement, journaling, traveling, and spending time with friends and family.

An effective way to deal with fear and panic in real-time is through somatic exercises, which entail allowing sensations and perceptions in your body to help calm your mind and nervous system. Each of these six somatic strategies can be effective tools to lower your heart rate, increase oxygen uptake, and calm your mind:

1. The mammalian dive reflex works as an effective “reset” for many people. Used by many mammals to conserve energy and oxygen during times of danger, this reflex is activated by submerging your face in cold water and holding your breath for 10-30 seconds. This lowers both your heart and breath rates to help calm the nervous system. An easy hack is to purchase a refrigerated gel bead eye mask to have on hand when anxiety rises.
2. Progressive muscle relaxation uses targeted awareness to physically relax tense muscle groups in the body, including the eyes, cheeks, jaw, neck, shoulders, chest, back, belly, arms, hands, legs, and feet. Using your breath, aim to progressively let go of tension in these areas as you exhale.
3. Breathwork exercises can also be helpful. Pause and take 5-10 slow deep breaths in and out. Balanced breathing involves using a slow count to a specific number, such as 1-2-3-4 when inhaling and taking another four counts when exhaling. Even taking a brief halt to hold your breath for three to five seconds can help.
4. The 5-4-3-2-1 grounding technique engages your senses by saying out loud five things you see, four things you can touch, three things you can hear, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste.
5. Mindfulness helps you learn to slow your mind to live in the present moment instead of focusing on the future and what might happen.
6. Cognitive restructuring is an approach that helps identify, challenge, and redirect the fearful and negative thoughts that accompany anxiety to more neutral and/or positive thoughts.

RAIN is a mindfulness and cognitive restructuring tool that dives deeper into anxious and fearful thoughts and feelings when they arise:

• R for RECOGNIZE means taking a pause to acknowledge what is happening and identify the emotions and thoughts without judging.
• A is to ALLOW the thoughts and emotions to flow instead of resisting them. Name the feelings or emotions without labeling them as good or bad. While the emotions may feel uncomfortable, you don’t have to like or react to them.
• I is to INVESTIGATE, or gently explore any physical and emotional sensations objectively. What triggered the emotions and feelings, and where and how does it feel in the body?
• N for NURTURE uses compassion to find helpful and positive ways to help soothe the anxiety.

The RAIN approach can help you move from feelings of fear, guilt, shame, and embarrassment to those of validity, curiosity, acceptance, and gratitude.

Exploring strategies that sound helpful to you and practicing them in non-anxious times, such as before bedtime or during a break in the day, can help make the approach more automatic. Utilizing the tools and developing a framework to calm anxiety can help individuals learn to

self-regulate the nervous system. With a calmer mind and body, it becomes easier to observe and redirect thoughts and feelings without feeling controlled by them.

If you feel like anxiety controls you, take the first step and reach out for help. Contact your health care provider or a mental health professional and find the help you need to start your healing journey.

Casey Wilkes is a Licensed Professional Counselor at the HopeHealth Medical Plaza. Her specialty areas include anxiety, trauma, problematic behaviors, mood disorders, and grief. For more information, call 843-667-9414 or visit hope-health.org.