Anxiety – causes and solutions

Around 275 million people suffer from anxiety worldwide, which is an average of 4% of the entire world population, or every 13th adult (World Economic Forum, 2019 Davos). On the other hand, in the USA, this number has become alarmingly large, reaching 18.1% of the population, or 40 million people (according to the American Anxiety and Depression Association).

All people have daily worries about something – responsibilities and concerns about children’s education, issues in professional life, worries about economic situation, etc. And that’s normal, because it forces people to focus on what’s important and mobilize. However, if the daily stress turns into anxiety and panic attacks, which regularly recur within 6 months and affect overall well-being and daily responsibilities – social, home and work life, it is time to seek help and solutions.

Symptoms of the anxiety and panic attacks.

Restlessness, difficulties with concentration, fatigue, mild excitability, uncontrollable and excessive worry, sleep disturbances are the most common symptoms of anxiety according to data from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).

On the other hand, the symptoms of a panic attack are reflected as: palpitations or rapid heart rate, sweating or shivering, a feeling of heaviness or pain in the chest, trembling hands, shortness of breath or a feeling of suffocation, dizziness and a feeling of instability, a feeling of loss of control and fear of going crazy or dying.

A large number of people who suffer from panic attacks note that they tend to experience them when they are in large crowds and in public places – in public transport, in a supermarket, at concerts, on an airplane, being alone at home and other situations. As a result, to reduce the risk of developing a panic attack, people avoid the relevant situations or constantly worry about when the next panic attack might occur.

Most people note that seizures begin unexpectedly and for no apparent reason. But the question is – is there no reason, or is the person simply unable to see and recognize it? Various studies, as well as my own practical experience with clients show that there is a reason and cause behind every anxiety or panic attack.

On the other hand, the triggering mechanism or trigger of an anxiety or panic attack has been a subjectively identifiable stressor. It should also be taken into account that very often people feel the greatest anxiety, precisely from the anxiety itself, because they are overwhelmed by the feeling that they cannot control the situation. Here it is important to remember that our own thoughts and the images created in our imaginations shape our feelings – the more we think about anxiety and how else it could manifest itself, the stronger it becomes.

Viewed through a holistic approach, where it is believed that the mind and body are one inseparable whole, anxiety and panic attacks are not a disease – they are not caused by a virus, bacteria, or any specific damage to the body. Anxiety and panic attacks are body signals created by situations or emotions as trigger mechanisms. When you experience anxiety and panic attacks, it is an indication that you need to focus on yourself – your emotional and physical health. When symptoms are ignored and suppressed, they often become more severe.

Unfortunately, there are 2 wrong positions often spread: that anxiety and panic attacks are a mental illness and nothing can be done about it, you have to live with it. And the second, that everything is in a person’s head, you only need to take yourself in your hands. In both cases, the assumptions are incorrect. Therefore, the correct approach would be to primarily accept anxiety and panic attacks as human feelings, to listen and analyze what the spirit wants to say through the body.

Causes of anxiety and panic attacks.

Anxiety and panic attacks are believed to be caused by unconscious conflicts, imagining fearful situations, thoughts and imaginary images that arise from subconscious conscious or unconscious beliefs. Anxiety can be caused by a prolonged stressful situation, overwork, low self-esteem, or as a result of the child-parent relationship where the child lacks a sense of emotional security.

According to Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, there are 4 main events that can influence the formation of anxiety:

• Loss of a desired object – for example, a child has lost a father or mother, a friend, a favorite animal.
• Loss of love – for example, when a person is rejected or cannot regain love or a good relationship with a significant other.
• Loss of personal individuality, fear of losing one’s self, one’s face, fear of not being accepted by the society.
• Loss of self-love – for example, the superego condemns character traits or personality traits, as well as actions that lead to feelings of guilt or self-hatred.

When I am working with people to remove their anxiety, I conclude that everyone has their own story and the reasons for anxiety are very individual, but in their deepest essence they correspond to one of the above.

For example, a woman over forty with low self-esteem years and years have been agreeing with her partner and everybody else, always have been doing what others want completely ignoring her own wishes and herself as a personality. During the Rapid Transformational Therapy session, she is recognizing various situations where she constantly has been self-denying. Understanding is very powerful – one’s the client understand the cause and route of the problem – there is space and option to fix the problem. Also, with this client – as soon as she recognized various situations where she has been denied herself for years, her inner peace was restored and symptoms of anxiety disappear. Future tasks for her are to work with herself, creating self-awareness, getting to know and listening her inner voice in more deeper level before listening anybody around, and recognize her own wishes and desires.

Another story: a man begins to experience anxiety while he has ongoing marriage divorce process. During Rapid Transformation Therapy session, the feelings of loss of love are recognized in both cases: in the existing situation – when breaking up with woman who he still loves and in identical feelings from the childhood – where he experiences loss of mother’s love.

Solutions to remove anxiety symptoms.

There won`t be two stories the same. Everybody is different, but the most important thing is to understand that anxiety or panic attacks are telling you something and you need to listen to them.

General meditation, breathing exercises, yoga, exercise, and awareness and modification of negative thinking will always be valuable for general calming of the mind. However, the real solution will not come from ignoring the causes of anxiety, but from awareness and change. As soon as a person is able to listen and understand the cause of anxiety, he has the opportunity to change the beliefs and thoughts stored in the subconscious mind in order to live a fulfilling life without anxiety symptoms. Rapid Transformation Therapy, about which you can learn more here, has proven itself to be an effective method to understand the route and cause and remove the symptoms of anxiety. However, methods such as specialized breathing practices or visiting a psychotherapist can also be valuable solutions in some cases.

Apply for a free consultation on Rapid Transformation Therapy here.