Is it anxiety… or stress?
People often wonder what the difference is. I explain it like this: Stress is a cause of anxiety, and anxiety is the result.
Notice that I said… a cause. Stress is not the only cause of anxiety, which can be confusing.
So, where does it come from?
It’s all in the brain.
Our brain seldom distinguishes real threats from perceived threats. In either case, anxiety is the brain’s way of preparing us to take action.
Imagine your car going into overdrive while in a school zone. It doesn’t make sense, right? This is not the time for accelerating, and you know this… logically.
But it’s like the car has a mind of its own! It just reacts this way, even when it doesn’t make sense.
When is anxiety a problem?
I’m going to guess that because you are reading this, it has become a problem for you.
Usually, when we’re struggling to manage daily tasks or the it interferes with our life, we decide to make a change.
Are any of these things keeping you from living your best life?
- Frequent nervousness or restlessness?
- Panic attacks?
- Avoidance of places for fear of having an anxiety attack?
- Increased muscle tension (headaches, sore muscles, or hand tremors)?
- Heart palpitations, nausea, or dizziness?
- Catastrophizing or hyper-focusing on worst-case scenarios?
- Avoiding conflict?
- Constant fear of being judged by others?
- Being easily startled or triggered by certain situations?
Why doesn’t it just go away?
One of the problems with anxiety is that the more we try to make it go away or stuff it down, the worse it gets.
It’s like the overdrive problem in a car. We can try to ignore it, but until we change the way we drive the car or figure out the cause, it’s not going away.
We must either learn to calm down that overactive part of our brain or create new neural pathways to produce a different emotional response.
Just imagine your life without anxiety…
What would you see? Hear? Feel?
What would be possible for you?
Because these things ARE possible!
Let’s liberate you from anxiety’s grip. Contact us today to schedule your free consultation: (817) 809-8801.