Know that feeling of your heart beating faster in response to a stressful situation? Or perhaps, instead, your palms get sweaty when you’re confronted with an overwhelming task or event.
That’s anxiety — our body’s natural response to stress. Anxiety can be useful, but only if it is managed properly. Anxiety prepares your body for an intense situation. It is thought that this was for situations in the wild, such as being chased by an animal. By increasing your heart rate and stress level, your body is ready to react to dangerous physical situations. The problem in modern times is this response is often triggered by things that don’t present any real physical threat.
Things like digital media, negativity on the news, deadlines, and tasks that involve heavy mental workloads may trigger a physical anxiety response, even if it’s not helpful. By learning to cope with anxiety and getting anxiety therapy, you can train your brain to react more appropriately to these new kinds of stimuli. If you are struggling and would like to seek anxiety therapy to help you, give us a call at Montgomery Counseling Group in Charlotte, NC.
If you haven’t recognized your triggers yet, here are a few common: your first day at a new job, meeting your partner’s family, or giving a presentation in front of a lot of people. Everyone has different triggers, and identifying them is one of the most important steps to coping and managing anxiety attacks.
Identifying your triggers can take some time and self-reflection. In the meantime, there are things you can do to try to help calm or quiet your anxiety from taking over.