What do you need to know about anxiety?

Anxiety affects every single individual independently of genre, age, cultural and societal background, and it can be a major health issue if not properly addressed. However, anxiety may not be necessarily bad. In this article, I classify anxiety into two types: healthy and unhealthy. Basically, the difference how individuals cope. Healthy anxiety helps you to be proactive, to solve issues, and move on with your life. Unhealthy anxiety paralyzes you to a point that it may jeopardize your life and health. Today, my focus will be mainly on the unhealthy anxiety, and if you are experiencing it, this is the right reading for you.

If you suffer from unhealthy anxiety you may doubt that you might ever feel free from it. The good thing is that unhealthy anxiety can turn into healthy anxiety; it may be successfully minimized to a point that you can manage it in your favor rather than feeling impaired by it. My intention here is to help you understand more about the nuances and implications of anxiety, and the most common and effective treatments and activities so anxiety no longer controls you.

What does anxiety mean?

Anxiety is a consensual word utilized in the medical field and by laypeople to describe a large spectrum of feelings and emotional turmoil, followed by physical symptoms. Common feelings underneath anxiety include worries, fears, frustration, anger, resentment, sadness, loss, rumination, and depression.

Common anxiety physical symptoms include restlessness, nervousness, racing thoughts, tension, difficulty sleeping, sweatiness, palpitations, chest heaviness or pain, shortness of breath, sleeping problems, extreme hunger or lack of appetite, nightmares, and intrusive thoughts.

Medical doctors are not trained to identify or treat emotional states, rather, they are trained to make diagnoses based on patients’ complaints and to prescribe medications. Some common medical diagnoses include generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), social anxiety, phobias, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

It is important to note that medical doctors treat the symptoms not the root of the problem. And based on the diagnostics, they may prescribe anti-anxiety medications known as benzodiazepines for immediate relief.  Popular anti-anxiety drugs include Valium (diazepam), Xanax (alprazolam), Klonopin (clonazepam), Librium (chlordiazepoxide), and Ativan (lorazepam).  

Anti-anxiety medications are helpful for a momentary relief of anxiety, by numbing your emotions; however, they do not heal. Once the chemical effect of the drug ceases,  and the stressor triggering factor still exists, anxiety might come back. Stressor factors include relationship problems, career issues, illness, loss, divorce, parenting issues, among others.Make it stand out

Mental health professionals including licensed marriage and family therapists (LMFT), licensed professional counselors (LPC), licensed clinical social workers (LCSW), are the ones who are trained to help individuals to subside their anxiety. Sometimes licensed professionals may work with medical doctors, so patients utilize prescription drugs until they acquire enough coping mechanisms to tame anxiety.

Unfortunately, therapy still is taboo for many individuals, and instead of looking for professional help to heal from their anxiousness, they may look for alternative ways to deal with it, by engaging in unhealthy patterns of behavior, abusing alcohol, drugs, food, and sex. But, again, it is only temporary relief; once the effect of the momentary gratification ceases, individuals tend to experience the “emotional hangover.”

How to permanently get rid of unhealthy anxiety?

Anxiety has a strong emotional and physical component, which may have genetic, epigenetic, and or traumatic roots. Therefore, it is a common reaction from an eminent or imaginary stressful thought of the event, and it tells us that something is wrong and or needs to be changed. There is a huge range of psychological interventions to treat anxiety to work on individuals’ cognitive-behavioral change.

I believe that unhealthy anxiety is only the tip of the iceberg, and there is much more underneath that needs to be unveiled so individuals can heal. That said, there are more appropriate interventions to treat unhealthy anxiety which comes from early traumatic experiences.

Although many experts say that anxiety cannot be cured, I disagree. My personal and professional experience has shown that unhealthy anxiety can be treated and cured, and there are effective psychological interventions that bring anxiety to a healthy level. Therefore, a holistic treatment including proper mental, physical, and spiritual care, can really help individuals not only to heal but to keep anxiety in the healthy range.

What are the most effective treatments to get rid of unhealthy anxiety?

There are numerous treatments for anxiety, and they all aim for you to understand your emotions and to change your cognition and behavior. However, there are a few ones that are more effective and short-term for anxiety that has traumatic roots, as they will help you to do more in-depth work, releasing emotional traumas in a much shorter time, compared to traditional treatments.

Clinical hypnotherapy (not hypnosis) is an evidence-based therapeutic modality, and it is one of the most effective and short-term interventions. Hypnotherapy should be delivered only by licensed health professionals with proper certifications. Hypnotherapy can heal individuals from many issues, including traumas, phobias, fears, addictions, and anxiety.

Hypnotherapy is even more effective when the somatic component is addressed during treatment. Our body records positive and negative memories, and it is important to include somatic work to erase the traumatic memory out of the body. I have successfully helped my clients who come with unhealthy anxiety to heal in a short period. During treatment with me, besides healing, my clients also learn skills to cope with anxiety in times of more stressful periods, to use anxiety as an ally rather than an enemy.

Activities out of the couch.

Several activities can help you to minimize unhealthy anxiety if you establish a routine of practices. A healthy routine that includes proper physical activity, nutrition, and spiritual practices is highly recommended to keep anxiety at bay. The same way we keep our physical hygiene with proper grooming, we should have the same care regarding our mental and spiritual realms.

A healthy routine has been proved to keep anxiety on healthy levels, increasing self-control and self-care. Besides physical activities such as weights, cardio, biking, tracking that will focus on physical strength, yoga, and qigong may combine the physical strength with the mental and spiritual components (very soon, I will write a blog about the benefits of yoga for integral health). Other mental and spiritual activities such as meditation, mindfulness, religious practice, are great options to strengthen the mind and spirit.

If you are looking for help with anxiety in Miami, I want to be your anxiety therapist. I also hold free wellness classes group. The wellness classes include education, yoga, meditation, auto-message, and guided imagery. If you are interested in participating, email therapy@noelialeite.com for the next available group.

I hope this helps you to find ways to release and manage your anxiety. If you are still feeling stuck, feel free to schedule a free 15-minute phone or video consultation for anxiety therapy. I’d be happy to help you to heal from your anxiety and to direct you to the right sources.