The mind is such a powerful thing. One moment we are sitting there minding our own business, enjoying the simple things in life and the next we’re short of breath, sweating profusely and on the verge of passing out from hyperventilation. Anxiety; when it hits, it hits hard. Sometimes it creeps up on us and we can feel it slowly getting closer and other times it punches us straight in the face, no warning. Heck, just reading about anxiety may trigger an attack. As I’ve said before, it tends to disguise itself in many different ways. We may experience shortness of breath, sudden rage, nausea, tightness in the chest; there list of ‘symptoms’ goes on and each individual has a different experience. The one thing we do need to understand is that we all get it: you, me, your partner - even the man walking his dog down the street! For too long now anxiety has been seen as something that is un-normal and uncommon and if it happens to you then you are suffering from poor mental health. The reality is that anxiety is normal and needs to be accepted by society in order for us to win this battle in an ever-growing, quietly anxious world. We’d be kidding ourselves if we pretended that we don’t all experience it at some point in time. In order to normalise anxiety we need to understand it and know that it is a normal chemical reaction within the brain. It happens to everyone. Everyone experiences these feelings and no, you aren’t dying, you don’t need to be rushed to hospital and you are not having a heart attack.
Now this is where I get to use the big words and make myself sound a lot smarter than I really am! Neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity means that our brain continues to be shaped by our experiences, thoughts and feelings. We create networks within the brain as a result of what we focus on. These thoughts and feelings toward particular networks either strengthens or weakens them. For example the more you worry or get caught in a cycle of worry the stronger the networks become and the better at worrying you become. On the contrary, the more you practice feeling calm the better you become at remaining calm in testing situations.
Now that we have covered that the brain is continually being shaped by everyday thoughts and feelings , let’s look at how other parts of the brain are affected by anxiety. I won’t go into too much detail but at the front of the brain we have what is called the pre-frontal cortex, or as I like to refer to it as our ‘thinking brain’. Our thinking brain is in charge of making our decisions. It is concerned with our emotions and how we respond to situations so it is something that we really need to know how to harness. Unfortunately in some situations we can lose control and our thinking brain can take over our actions. You see, we also have this part of our brain called the Amygdala. I refer to this as our ‘smoke alarm’ (you’ll understand why in a minute). The Amygdala switches into gear when it feels it is in a stressful situation. This is an instinctive reaction that causes the body to go into ‘fight, flight or freeze’ mode. This part of our brain hasn’t really evolved since our prehistoric ancestors (cavemen) roamed the earth. Our brain can’t really tell the difference between running away from a Saber Tooth Tiger or being stuck at a red light whilst running late for work. The smoke alarm can get it wrong sometimes and release the same stress response, which includes a hormonal release of cortisol and adrenaline. Are you starting to get why I call it the Smoke Alarm? It’s a similar response to my Smoke Alarm (the one we all know) which goes off loud and clear in my little suburban home at all hours of the day. Burnt toast: must be a fire! Hot, steamy shower: must be a fire! When this response occurs our internal Smoke Alarm goes off and takes control, we risk losing the usually rational thought processes of our Thinking Brain. .
It is in these moments where we could potentially lose our ‘rational mind’ that mindfulness and meditation come in handy. Bringing our awareness and focus away from the many negatives we face and strengthening the networks of calm and peacefulness can harness the reaction of our internal Smoke Alarm and thus maintain control of our Thinking Brain. I’m not going to focus on these strategies just yet as I want you to first sit with what I have discussed today. I want to focus this particular space purely on normalising anxiety and understanding that it is simply a chemical reaction within our minds. Next time you find yourself faced with a situation where your Smoke Alarm has gone off, I want you to remember what you have read and process the emotions and feelings you are experiencing in that moment.
For those of us who are on the receiving end of anxiety here are just a few things we need to take into consideration. Be aware of the behaviours others present and recognise where it comes from and if it comes from a place of anxiousness. Remember what I said in the beginning; anxiety takes on many shapes and forms. It is important that we are not reactive in moments like these even though sometimes we too really want to yell and scream or act out as a result of what is unfolding in front of us. We need to remain in control as they are faced with a loss of control. Some may say to walk away, and of course, in some circumstances if you are put in danger it is important to walk away, however; we all know that when we are in that state the last thing we want is to be left alone. The amount of times that I have been sitting in a full-blown panic attack and the person I have needed the very most has not understood what I was going through and walked away is incredible. The anxiety only heightens in those moments and self-soothing becomes very difficult, especially if you are unaware of how or what to do. It places a sense of judgement and fear on the person who feels lonely in a time chaos. It is important to know that being there for your person and ensuring they know you are there for them is the greatest step you can take to supporting them through. They need to know that you will not abandon them in a time where their brain literally fears the worst. Stay calm and present with them. Remind them to breathe and ground themselves. If the anxiety becomes too overwhelming, ask them to tell you things they can hear, see, smell. Once they calm and you see the Thinking Brain coming back to light then discuss with them what was happening and ask them to give you ways in which they feel they can solve the issue. Reality is they can solve the problem; they just need and ear to listen.
Great read!
ReplyDelete