I work with clients who suffer from anxiety in my Irvine office. Anxiety can be described as having an overwhelming feeling in response to a situation or event that is perceived as a threat. Anxiety can show up differently from individual to individual.
If you’re experiencing anxiety, it’s likely because you are feeling uncomfortable or unsafe. You may feel nauseous or lightheaded. You may feel like you can’t breathe and are suffocating. Heck, you may even get clammy hands or even start sweating. The good news is that anxiety does not have to overpower your life and there can be ways to get it under control.
What are symptoms of an anxiety disorder?
- Racing heart
- Irritability
- Shortness of breath
- Feeling nauseous
If you want to know more about anxiety, you can read more about it here.
Causes of Anxiety
When you sense danger, your body automatically responds to the perceived danger. Your body goes into fight, flight, or freeze mode and you can experience the feelings I’ve mentioned above. While having some anxiety in varying situations is normal, too much of it can be unhealthy. It’s like being stressed all the time!
Here are some signs that anxiety may be affecting the quality of your life:
- You worry about everything and anything!
- You find yourself isolating yourself from people or situations
- The anticipation of doing and doing new things is both terrifying and exhausting
When out of control, anxiety can also affect your relationships, your job, and other important aspects of your life. The good news is that your anxiety can be more manageable and doesn’t have to take over your life.
Treatment for Anxiety
So how do you cope with anxiety? There are many things that you can do now to better manage your anxiety. One way is by maintaining a healthy lifestyle. This might look like exercising regularly, eating a healthy diet, and making sure you get adequate sleep. In Irvine, we are pretty lucky to get plenty of sunshine year round, so take advantage of it by going for a walk or hike!
If you haven’t had much of an active lifestyle before, it’s never too late too start—although, I’d recommend that you speak to your primary care doctor first before you start an exercise regime. Irvine also has an amazing food scene with lots of healthy options—my husband is constantly yelping his way to our next meal, so certainly try to find those gems.
Therapy can also help because we’ll figure out together what changes you want to see in your life.