The DEMON we call ANXIETY
Anxiety can be debilitating. It can take all the joy out of life and leave us feeling miserable. It can leave us stuck with thoughts going around and around in our heads. This is how anxiety affects many people and they feel like they have no control over this demon that can just turn up without any notice and make us feel physically and emotionally out of control.
Firstly, lets look at why we have anxiety. Everybody has anxiety. It is one of the primary emotions that we are born with. We need our anxiety to survive. If you imagine you are walking down a dark street and you sense someone following behind you. You will probably feel anxious and this will make you more alert in order to be able to act appropriately if there is any danger. Chances are the person will cross over and go on their way or pass you and say good evening and then your anxiety will settle and you will continue your walk.
When we sense danger our brain and body will react and prepare us to either “fight, flight or freeze” Our brains will automatically decide for us which is the most appropriate for our survival. This is our primitive brain in action.
What happens sometimes though is we give ourselves “false alarms” Our brain does not know a real threat from a false alarm. Our brain will perceive a situation and react to it from the information we communicate to it and then respond to protect us.
Our anxiety is our friend. We need it for our survival. We just need to learn to be able to be more in sync with it. Then this demon will turn into a puppy which we can calm down
Talking to a counsellor can help you to become more aware of your relationship with anxiety and how you respond to it. With this knowledge and awareness, you can take back control and stop the anxiety demon turning up to plague you.