What is Anxiety?

We commonly associate anxiety with negative experiences and feelings. On most mental health information websites, you will find anxiety linked to depression, panic attacks and so on. Information providers widely speculates that anxiety is common and that anyone can be affected by it. This leaves a sense that anxiety is generally perceived as separated from normal day to day psychological functioning. If your unlucky enough, you may be affected by it!

Fact: Anxiety is actually part of life, everyone is affected by it on a daily basis. It can be triggered by negative experiences and feelings, it also can be triggered by positive and progressive experiences.

We all know that feeling of getting into trouble with a parent or by a teacher at school, being called into the bosses office at work. Your heart is racing, muscles are tense and you start sweating. Your mind goes into panic, thoughts rushing and you begin to overthink - Am I in trouble, What will they say, What will I say?

Now do you remember your first kiss? Walking up onto the graduation stage to accept your degree/diploma, getting an acceptance call for a job you applied to? Your heart is racing, muscle's tense, you begin to sweat and overthink - Do they like me, What if I don't do this properly, What if I trip on stage, Do I say anything or do I just keep walking, What if I don't get this job, etc.

Of course these are just examples of anxiety provoking situations. There are many more to be found in your day. This blog post by no means is trying to detract or generalise anxiety. There is a wide variety of how anxiety can be experienced, from mild to extreme, barely effective to completely life consuming. It is important to recognise how you experience anxiety, your emotional and physical experience, your triggers and patterns. Once you are aware of this, you can begin to change any negative cycles and form a healthy understanding of anxiety.

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