Managing Anxiety
Anxiety shares similarities with fear however, anxiety occurs when there is no real danger present. When confronted with a situation that makes you feel like you are in danger despite having nothing dangerous being present, our bodies fight or flight response is activated. When this response is activated it is our bodies way of protecting us which in turn will affect our physical, cognitive, and behavioural systems.
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- Increased heart rate and strength of the beat
- Looking pale and feeling cold
- Increased rate of breathing
- Increased sweating
- Pupils widening
- Feelings of dry mouth, nausea, and a heavy stomach
- Muscle tension
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- A fearful or anxious event can cause a fight or flight response
- From this response there are urges of either aggression (fight) or to escape (flight)
- Due to the social norms that we face neither behaviours can occur outright but can present themselves in the form of pacing or even losing your temper at someone
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The DASS (Depression Anxiety Stress Scales) -21 is a 21 item questionnaire used to be measure the negative emotional states of depression, anxiety and stress. The DASS however should not be solely used to determine the presence of these emotional states and should be used in combination with expert advice.
You can find a number of resources in the links below which can assist with you with managing your anxiety, click into each link for more information.
Generalised Anxiety Disorder
Feeling tense, stressed, and worried at certain times when under pressure is a normal human response.
In fact 2 out of every 5 people report that they worry at least once every day. However, for some
people their worry, feelings of anxiety and tension persists to the point that they significantly interfere
with their daily life. If this sounds like you, then you may find the information in this sheet very helpful in
understanding what generalised anxiety is and its relevance to you.
Health Anxiety Disorder
Health anxiety is an experience that occurs when you think there are threats to your health which in turn will trigger an anxious response. Although we are all concerned about our health, health anxiety becomes an issue when concerns about your health are excessive, out of proportion, and impair your day-to-day life.
We hope that these resources can help you, in conjunction with your Rehabilitation Consultant to better manage any issues you maybe having in this space. Please don’t hesitate to approach your Consultant and talk to us if you feel you are struggling with anxiety.
