Anxiety is flooded in our daily lives, and everyone may be anxious. Data shows that in the UK, one in four people suffer from psychological problems, and one in five adults suffers from anxiety.
I once heard a few primary school students who seemed to be in the first grade and sighed: "Hey, life is too difficult! I will go to school tomorrow!" Everyone sees that the wide coverage of anxiety has affected primary school students in the first grade. What about us adults? Anxiety, as a common phenomenon, is worthy of everyone's attention. Moderate anxiety is beneficial, while excessive anxiety is harmful. If you belong to the latter, I would like to recommend a book to you - "Handbook of Self-help of Anxiety Personality", which can help you successfully escape from the storm of anxiety.
The author of "Handbook of Anxiety Personality Self-Rescue" is Anna Williamson, a life mentor, psychological counselor and a senior executive of NLP. She was also an anxiety disorder. After she recovered, she was committed to eliminating the public's sense of shame about mental health issues, helping those who are troubled by mental health issues get out of the trough and find a happy life.
Rita Newell, a clinical psychologist and member of the British Psychological Society (BPS), now opens a private psychological clinic in Hertfordshire, UK, providing psychological assessments, counseling and treatment options for children, adults and families, helping many people suffering from anxiety.
Beth Ivans American illustrator, comic book artist, and all the interesting illustrations in the book are drawn by her.
1. What is anxiety
Anxiety is a deeply rooted "protection mechanism" in humans. The book gives a simple example to illustrate this "protection mechanism": if you are a primitive person, full of dangers, you need to keep your mind clear when going hunting. In addition to paying attention to prey, you also need to pay attention to the attacks on you by other tribes.
So what will the original man do? He is very likely to be tight and in a protective mechanism; his eyes are shiny, and he is alert to danger; his adrenaline secretion increases, his heartbeats become faster, and his breathing is rapid, and his body will be covered with a layer of sweat to cool himself down; his body and spirit are awakened, and he is always ready to act, which may be fighting or running. Once the danger is lifted, he will return to normal.
But this protection mechanism has drawbacks, because the brain cannot tell which are real threats and which are just threats we imagine. And as long as we imagine clearly, anxiety will be aroused. After a while, if this situation persists and is accompanied by a feeling of fear and fear, anxiety will increase.
When I was in school, I was very anxious about the exam. Every time I took the exam, my body was tight, my breathing was faster, I sweated, and my mouth was dry. I returned to normal after each exam. But whenever I think of the exam, I always worry that I will not take the exam well and I am very afraid of it. From time to time, I dreamed that I was holding the test paper in the exam room and knew nothing. After I woke up, I began to fall into anxiety again.
2. Social anxiety
Just now on a question and answer platform, I received a question: Should I participate in the company's team-building tour? After reading the introduction, the topic is social fear, that is, social anxiety, an expert in personality, autism, and no friends in the company. During the National Day holiday, the company organized a trip, which caused him to have anxiety attacks. He expected that even if he went to the team building, no one would be willing to be in the same room with him. Everyone would be unhappy with him, so he was very anxious and didn't know how to deal with it.
More and more people have social anxiety, which is also a common emotion. It is a discomfort that a person develops fear and other discomfort when he or she is likely to be evaluated by others. The typical feature is that "how others will view themselves" is too nervous. People trapped in social anxiety will be afraid that they will be good enough in the face of others' strictness, and even assume that others will reject and criticize themselves. And they often have paranoid and negative ideas.
I have also had this situation. The most likely occasions to trigger my social anxiety are: at family gatherings. At gatherings, elders will gather around us to discuss the topics of our marriage, love, marriage and having children, and are always urging us to move towards our next goal. Then I attended the wedding. There were so many strangers, and I was worried about whether my performance was not good and whether I would embarrass my family. Now that I think about it, it’s really mediocre, because I find that no one pays attention to me at all. Most importantly, you need to remember that your thoughts do not equal facts.
also provides some tips for alleviating social anxiety:
1. Play as a social expert, pretend that you are good at socializing, devote yourself to the role, and test your "acting skills". Sometimes it will come true as you act.
2. Prepare some conversation materials and immediately take them out to liven up the atmosphere when needed. For example, if you suddenly feel uneasy at the dinner table, you can take out a material and guide the topic elsewhere, which can solve the embarrassing situation.
3. Escape plan. If you feel that you can’t handle it, you will run away from the scene and find an excuse and slip away. When I first started working, the company always had dinner and sang K. I didn’t like too much occasions. I always said that I would open the door for my roommate to go back, and she slipped back early because she didn’t bring the key.
3. Small suggestions for improving anxiety
To overcome anxiety, you must first understand anxiety. Anxiety is composed of three parts: thoughts, physiological feelings and behaviors. We can first change our ideas and challenge our original ideas. Don’t believe in every thought that makes you anxious and then face your fears bravely.
The psychology and the body should cooperate with each other, because a healthy body and a healthy psychology are closely related. Anxiety can lead to physical problems: conditions such as insomnia, depression, physical discomfort, etc. We all know the benefits of exercise to improve physical condition and fight disease. Moreover, when exercising, the human body secretes a hormone called endorphin, which makes people feel good, relieves pain, relieves stress and tension, and improves sleep quality. If you feel anxious, start exercising, even if it’s just walking. There are many options for exercise, such as mountain climbing, swimming, yoga, dancing, cycling, etc. There is always one for you.
In terms of behavior, you must learn to relax and slow down.
"Handbook of Self-help of Anxiety Personality" is a simple and easy-to-understand book that helps you overcome anxiety, especially when you are troubled by anxiety. Some simple and cute illustrations in the book are also very interesting. Anxiety is actually not scary, what is scary is that it cannot control it. Through the dual "confrontation" between the body and the psychology, anxiety can be returned to normal and self-rescue can be achieved. If the anxiety is serious, the doctor must intervene in time and do not avoid medical treatment. Practical expert guidance can help you correctly clear your anxiety and regain your calm life.
