Why Am i afraid?

Fear is an inevitable and necessary part of life.  Like any other emotion, it serves a purpose.  Perhaps more than any other emotion, fear protects us from danger.  Let’s say you’re hiking in the woods.  All of a sudden, you hear something hissing.  You look down and at your feet is a copperhead snake, coiled up and ready to strike.  You are terrified!  That fear triggers your amygdala (an almond-shaped structure located deep inside your brain) to activate your fight, flight, or freeze response.  Your heart pumps faster, your breathing increases, and your muscles tense.  Slowly, you back away.  Fear of the copperhead has kept you alive.  

 But what if you feel afraid when you’re perfectly safe?  What if you feel as afraid walking to the mailbox as if a copperhead crossed your path?  What if your heart pounds and you break out into a sweat driving to work or in a grocery store?  If you feel afraid when you’re perfectly safe, that’s anxiety, not fear.  

 The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) makes the distinction this way: “Fear is the emotional response to real or perceived imminent threat, whereas anxiety is anticipation of future threat…anxiety [is] more often associated with muscle tension and vigilance in preparation for future danger and cautious or avoidant behaviors (p.226).”  In short, fear concerns the present.  Anxiety concerns the future.  

 Anxiety disorders are one of the most common conditions we see in counseling.  In fact, according to both the American Psychological Association (APA) and the Center for Disease Control (CDC) anxiety rates have been increasing since 2008.  

What causes anxiety? 

We can’t point to just one thing that causes anxiety.  Instead, a combination of genetic and environmental factors can increase your risk of developing an anxiety disorder.  You’re at risk for developing anxiety if any of the following apply to you: 

·      You’ve experienced trauma

·      You have blood relatives with an anxiety disorder

·      You experience high level, constant stress.  This can include: ongoing worry about serious illness, financial issues, high-activity, pressured work environment, and more.

·      Certain personality traits increase your risk, such as: shyness in social situations, extreme sensitivity to criticism, fixation on details, and moral rigidness.  

·      You abuse substances

·      Certain physical illnesses like heart disease, diabetes, asthma, COPD, and thyroid problems

·      You are female

 Anxiety and Trauma

I’m sure you noticed that one of the risk factors for developing an anxiety disorder is experiencing trauma.  Trauma can make people particularly susceptible to anxiety.  As I mentioned in a previous post, experiencing trauma can actually alter the structure of the brain.  All trauma effects the brain, but childhood trauma can be especially impactful.  Trauma experienced before the age of 18 occurs when the brain is undergoing a tremendous amount of growth and as a result, our brain can almost freeze in a trauma response.  This can mean that your fight or flight response is always “on”, making you feel like you’re constantly on the lookout for danger.  

 Unfortunately, childhood trauma is very common; two-thirds of people have experienced at least one traumatic event in childhood.  Of those who have faced childhood trauma, about 13% develop trauma-related symptoms.  These statistics are important to note because we tend to believe dealing with mental health issues is unusual, when in fact most of us will face some type of mental health symptoms in our lifetime. 

What Can You Do? 

There are several ways to address your anxiety symptoms.  Mindfulness, meditation, and yoga have all been shown to be effective in treating anxiety. Each of these practices emphasizes keeping the mind in the present and approaching stress in a way that promotes better coping abilities. (Remember, anxiety concerns the future—worry about what might be.) In addition daily exercise, limiting caffeine intake, and practicing good sleep hygiene all contribute to reducing anxiety.

You might want to see your doctor and talk about prescription medication to help with anxiety. This doesn’t have to be a long-term solution. You can work with your doctor and a counselor to develop a temporary medication regimen that helps ease your symptoms as you begin therapy to learn non-medical treatments for anxiety.

Finally, you may choose to focus solely on counseling and forgo medication altogether. Working with a licensed counselor, you can learn to reframe your anxious thoughts, overcome long-standing fears, and utilize the body to calm the mind through relaxation techniques. You can learn to live without fear and embrace the life you’ve dreamed of.