Beating anxiety with SCIENCE!
My medical provider says I have a “high sympathetic tone” - which is a polite way to say I’m high strung. This manifests day-to-day as anxiety. When I don’t keep it under control, I can end up in a full blown panic attack. But how DOES one just “get it under control?!” (Said with as little snark as I can muster.) My problem had been WHAT DO I DO with the physical symptoms when I feel like I’m coming out of my skin?
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary (2) says the word anxiety has TWO essential meanings.
1 : fear or nervousness about what might happen
2 : a feeling of wanting to do something very much
The full definition is:
a
(1) : apprehensive uneasiness or nervousness usually over an impending or anticipated ill : a state of being anxious
(2) medical : an abnormal and overwhelming sense of apprehension and fear often marked by physical signs (such as tension, sweating, and increased pulse rate), by doubt concerning the reality and nature of the threat, and by self-doubt about one's capacity to cope with it
b : mentally distressing concern or interest
c: a strong desire sometimes mixed with doubt, fear, or uneasiness
You’re already familiar, right? Ready for the magic?
When you couple this definition alongside Dr. Brene Brown’s research findings (1), you come up with new ways to address anxiety in real-time.
The research findings show that the feelings associated with anxiety are the exact same feelings associated with excitement - and that it is our perception of our experience that ends up having a bit of a prophetic outcome on our scenario.
I have trauma in my background that can cause me to be triggered and sometimes not even understand why I’m feeling the way that I am. When I feel that tightening around my chest, I used to start thinking *Why am I feeling anxious?!* and try to identify triggers while I was in a tailspin. Excitement. This was so impactful for me. People pay thousands of dollars and haul their families to Disney trying to cultivate this feeling I have naturally overflowing out of me.
Now, I try to think *What am I so excited about?!*
When I frame the question that way, it takes the panic out of it. It feels in my control. Then, I start listing off things (pre-prepared because we know how anxiety works medically) that I am looking forward to. Maybe it’s coffee. Maybe it’s knowing my favorite sweater is clean. Maybe it’s that I’ll get a 15 minute break at the end of my work session. Doesn’t have to be a trip to Tulum. Feel like an over-reaction? Too much excitement about coffee? Then yeah, bring it down. Suddenly I’m in control of how I’m feeling AND I’ve got my brain buzzing around with positive things I’m looking forward to.
Of course, this is on top of being medically managed. I don’t want anyone to skip that step if they feel they have a condition that is debilitating. This is a tool you can put in your tool belt - a coping skill. Let’s use science to help us live better lives.
(1) Brown, Dr. Brene. “Places We Go When Things Are Uncertain or Too Much.” Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience, Penguin Random House LLC New York, 2021.
(2) “Anxiety.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/anxiety. Accessed 10 Jan. 2022.