In order to begin understanding what exactly is anxiety, it is important to understand it objectively, especially a therapist's point of view.
Diana Sam, is a certified counselling psychologist based in Bangalore. She sits down with me for a long chat and explaining what exactly is anxiety and the misconceptions in therapy.
Anxiety is what we feel when we are worried, tense or afraid - particularly about things that are about to happen or which we think could happen in the future.
"It is a natural human response," she explains, "when we perceive that we are under threat."
It is a normal reaction which sometimes acts as a warning system that alert us to danger or threats.
Anxiety becomes a mental health problem if the feelings of anxiety being experienced becomes intense, prolonged and long lasting. Your fears and worries are out of proportion to the situation and you start avoiding situations that make you feel anxious. The fears and worries seem like a heavy burden which causes distress and it becomes hard to control.
Extreme cases of anxiety can also include symptoms like panic attacks.
She made a clear distinction between anxious thoughts and anxiety disorder in itself as follows:
Anxious thoughts - Embarassment or self consciousness in an uncomfortable or awkward social situation.
Anxiety disorder - Avoiding social situations for fear of being judged, embarassed or humiliated.
Anxious thoughts - Sweating before a big test, business presentation, stage performance or other significant event.
Anxiety disorder - Seemingly out of the blue panic attacks and the preoccupation with the fear of having another one.
Anxious thoughts - Realistic fear of a dangerous object, place or a situation.
Anxiety disorder - Irrational fear or avoidance of an object, place or a situation that poses little or no threat of danger.
Anxious thoughts - Anxiety, sadness or difficulty sleeping immediately after a traumatic event
Anxiety disorder - Recurring nightmares, flashbacks or emotional numbing related to a traumatic event that occurred several months or years before.
When asked when an individual realizes when to seek for therapy, the counselor clearly emphasized, "Therapy is not a solution to your problem. A therapist is not going to give you a black and white solution to that stressful situation you are going through. But what therapy can definitely provide you is a space to be yourself, a space for you to show your vulnerabilities. A space where your thoughts are not judged. It helps to vent, to deal, to plan, to retrospect, to guide and simply to be."
One needn't be in the most worst situation to always look out for help.
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