2020 did a number on everyone’s mental health. So many deaths so quickly and people oftentimes not even being allowed the opportunity to grieve them properly. The whole world seeming to change in one single day. One day you could come and go as you please and the next there are so many new rules to follow. On top of all that the stress from the election year and all the hate on both sides. It was a lot for anyone to take.
The pandemic caused a lot of people to have to spend more time alone and caused a lot of people to be stuck in their homes. The lack of keeping their normal schedules leads to many people starting to have problems with their mental health. For many people, this started to manifest into anxiety. This may lead you to ask what exactly is anxiety?
What is Anxiety?
Anxiety is the reaction your body has to stress. Doctors also define it as extreme, unnecessary, and resolute worry. That is often accompanied by rapid heartbeat and shortness of breath. Anxiety can manifest and become a full-blown panic attack. When people suffer from panic attacks they can become totally dissociative and not even remember all of their actions later.
Many people who suffer from panic attacks suffer from them because they suffered some sort of significant trauma in their life.
How Does Anxiety Feel
Trying to describe what anxiety feels like to someone who does not suffer from anxiety can be very difficult. Many people describe feeling like they are drowning in a sea of their own thoughts. It has also been described as a tightness in the chest that makes it feel like it is impossible to take a breath. Every individual has different symptoms. Sweating, shaking, stomach aches, tight muscles, and exhaustion are a few of the very common symptoms of anxiety. People may take a supplement like CBD oil to try and help them manage these feelings, but many will also benefit from other treatments, such as talking therapies, in order to help them learn how to manage their anxiety.
Panic Attacks can be very scary for the person having them and anyone who is around the person when it happens. The person may convulse and may even try to hurt themselves. If you witness someone else having a panic attack, you need to try and calm them. Unless you know them and know touching them will help give them plenty of room,
The best thing is to try to get them to respond to you. Ask them things about their surroundings try to get them to tell you 3 things they can see. Then get them to tell you 3 things they can hear and finally ask them what three body parts they can control. This is called grounding and may help them snap out of the panic attack.
Talk to Someone
If you are struggling with anxiety it is time to talk to someone about it. Letting anyone know that you struggle with anything can be difficult, but there is nothing wrong with needing help. Asking for help shows that you are strong enough to overcome your fear of telling someone you are not perfect. No one is perfect and no one should try and face the world alone. Taking the time to talk to a professional about your anxiety can lead you down the road of learning how to deal with it healthily.
You should now have a better understanding of what anxiety is and how it can affect your or your loved one’s life. Talking to someone is the key to dealing with anxiety and stress healthily. You can not continue to just let your stress and anxiety fester. Take the first step and find someone to talk to so that you can be started down the right path from now on.
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